A monk’s good luck spell for Danai Udomchoke was not enough yesterday as the local hero crashed out of the Thailand Open second round in two sets to Germany’s Matthias Bachinger.
The Bangkok resident was knocked out 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, despite consulting with a Buddhist monk a week before what could prove to be his final appearance in the tournament as retirement looms for the 30-year-old.
Bachinger, ranked 98, left the spiritual to one side and drew on physical resources alone to deny the Thai his chance at a second ATP career quarter-final, after reaching the final eight in Beijing half a decade ago.
Udomchoke, world No. 217, admitted that while he appreciated any edge over his opponent he could get, his tennis fate had always been in his own hands.
“It takes more than that. The spell is something good for the mind, but it stills comes down to physical fitness and hard work,” said the player who has been dealing with a recent shoulder injury. “I’ve prepared really well for three weeks because this could be my last Thailand Open. I want to retire next year and don’t know if I can last the whole season [2012].”
Bachinger will face the winner of the match between Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun and 2009 champion Gilles Simon of France, which was ongoing at press time.
Germany’s Tobias Kamke upset eighth seed Pablo Andujar with a 6-0, 6-1 thrashing of the No. 44 who was fresh from Bucharest where he played his third final of the season at the weekend, losing to Florian Mayer.
Kamke, ranked 103, next plays Japan’s Go Soeda, a comeback winner over Slovak Karol Beck 3-6, 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (7/4).
Additional reporting by staff writer
MALAYSIAN OPEN
AFP, KUALA LUMPUR
Australian duo Bernard Tomic and Marinko Matosevic yesterday crashed out of the ATP Malaysian Open with straight sets losses, leaving their nation without a representative in the event. Three Australians have been eliminated at the first hurdle on the indoor court at Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Italy’s Flavio Cipolla dispatched Tomic 6-2, 6-2, while qualifier Matosevic fell to Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-3, 6-2 in 72 minutes despite serving up six aces.
The defeat was a harsh blow to the teenaged Tomic, tipped as the future of the Australian game as Lleyton Hewitt, the 30-year-old crowd favorite, struggles to regain top form as chronic injuries begin to inhibit his game.
Since stirring passions with his Wimbledon quarter-final this summer, Tomic’s form has also dropped, with the Australian posting just four wins from 10 matches. He beat Stanislas Wawrinka to keep Australia alive in the Davis Cup promotion tie in Sydney this month, but lost in reverse singles to Roger Federer, as Switzerland eventually won the weekend in Sydney for a return to the World Group next year.
The 18-year-old Tomic, ranked 59th, met Cipolla, nearly a decade older, for the first time, with the loss pushing the Australian’s account for the season into the negative with 12 defeats against 11 wins. Cipolla set up a second-round clash with Serbian third seed Janko Tipsarevic. Istomin also drew a Serbian and next faces No. 2 Viktor Troicki.
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