French qualifier Albano Olivetti, ranked 388th and playing in the main draw of an ATP event for the first time, stunned Mardy Fish 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the second round of the Open 13 on Thursday.
The second-seeded US player rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the second set to level the match. However, Olivetti jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the decider and kept his composure to earn the biggest victory of his young career.
“That’s just a number next to his name right now,” Fish said of Olivetti’s ranking. “He won’t be there for very long if he continues to play like that.”
Photo: AFP
Fish compared Olivetti’s serve to Ivo Karlovic and John Isner.
“He puts pressure on you with his serve and that’s what big servers do,” Fish said.
“He probably has one of the hardest serves I’ve ever played against. He hit me with a serve and I almost hurt my left wrist,” Fish added.
Olivetti served 23 aces, but also made nine double-faults.
Olivetti is scheduled to meet Michael Llodra in an all-French quarter-final.
Llodra downed sixth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (5).
Llodra had 19 aces and the 2010 champion won four straight points to take a 5-2 lead in the deciding tiebreaker.
Juan Martin del Potro also advanced to the quarter-finals when a right foot injury forced Nikolay Davydenko of Russia to retire with the match level at one set apiece.
The fourth-seeded Argentine lost the opening set 7-6 (6), but took the second 6-4 when Davydenko said he couldn’t continue.
Del Potro fought back in the second set, breaking for a 4-3 lead when Davydenko double-faulted. He served his 16th ace to close it out.
He will next face Richard Gasquet, who cruised past Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 6-3, 6-2.
The fifth-seeded Frenchman broke Kunitsyn’s serve three times and saved all six break points he faced. Gasquet has now reached the quarter-finals four times this season.
Del Potro paid tribute to the victims of Wednesday’s train crash in Buenos Aires by wearing a black ribbon on his T-shirt. Fifty people died when the train crashed at a downtown station.
COPA CLARO
AP, BUENOS AIRES
Seeded players Gilles Simon of France, Fernando Verdasco of Spain and local favorite Juan Monaco were knocked out in the second round of the Copa Claro on Thursday.
Carlos Berlocq of Argentina beat the third-seeded Simon 6-2, 6-1 and Igor Andreev of Russia downed No. 7 Verdasco 7-6 (3), 6-3 at the clay-court tournament.
Argentine David Nalbandian defeated No. 5 Monaco 6-3, 6-1.
One seeded player survived: No. 2 Nicolas Almagro of Spain had an easy time beating Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-3, 6-2.
Nalbandian was to face fellow Argentine Berlocq in yesterday’s quarter-finals.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS