Gilles Simon of France needed nearly three hours to edge out Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 6-4 in his opening match at the Thailand Open on Wednesday.
“I was down a set and a break and he had points for 5-2,” said third-seed Simon, who is now through to the quarter-finals. “It was an amazing match. His level was really high and I had the sensation that I was also playing well.”
The match was only decided in the closing moments as Simon, the world No. 12, earned a break to go 5-4 up, before serving out the victory against a player ranked 56 places below him.
“I was almost on the plane back home at one point. I’m very happy to win this match,” the Frenchman said.
Simon will meet Matthias Bachinger in the quarter-finals today. The unseeded German beat Danai Udomchoke of Thailand, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Defending champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez crashed out yesterday as second seed Gael Monfils survived a scare to win in three sets.
Spain’s Garcia-Lopez, the fourth seed, was stunned by US outsider Donald Young, ranked 55, who won 6-1, 6-7 (0/7), 7-5 after a match -lasting more than two-and-a-half hours.
Young will play in only his third career quarter-final at the ATP level when he meets Japan’s Go Soeda, who put out German Tobias Kamke 6-2, 7-6 (9/7).
Murray was due to begin his campaign at the event, where he finished runner-up six years ago to Roger Federer, against German Michael Berrer.
? MALAYSIAN OPEN
AFP, KUALA LUMPUR
Serbia’s Viktor Troicki swept into the quarter-finals of the Malaysian Open in straight sets yesterday, joined by former champion Nikolay Davydenko in the last eight.
Second seed Troicki beat Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-1, 6-4, while 2009 champion Davydenko put out Poland’s Lukasz Kubot 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) indoors at the Putra Stadium.
Troicki, a member of the Serbian team that lost to Argentina in the Davis Cup semi-finals, earned revenge for a defeat at the hands of Istomin in last year’s New Haven semi-finals.
“I lost to him in a strange match last year. I knew I had to play more offensive and take my chances when they came,” said the 15th-ranked Serb, who is next scheduled to face Russian Dmitry Tursunov.
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
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Taiwanese shortstop Cheng Tsung-che on Friday made history for the Boston Red Sox’s Triple A affiliate, hitting the Worcester Red Sox’s first cycle, while netting two runs, as they beat fellow Taiwan teammate Stuart Fairchild’s Columbus Clippers. The 24-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect went 4-4, completing a full cycle, starting with a triple in the second inning off Ryan Webb in the WooSox’s 9-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians’ Triple A affiliate. He scored in the same inning after teammate Vinny Capra, a fellow former Pirate, grounded out. The Pingtung County native followed that up with a walk in the third, an
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