Viktor Troicki made the most of his return to tennis after serving a one-year ban as the Serb defeated Austria’s Dominic Thiem 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 on Monday in the first round of the Swiss Open.
Troicki took down eighth seed Thiem, tipped as a name of the future, with the win helping to boost the Serb’s confidence after being granted a wildcard entry after seeing his ranking plummet following his suspension.
Troicki, now 847th in the world, received a 12-month ban for delaying a mandatory blood test at Monte Carlo in April last year by a day, saying he felt ill. Despite having blood drawn a day later, he was banned for a year.
Photo: EPA
“It was very emotional, very strange for me,” Troicki said. “I want to thank the organizers for this wildcard, which means a lot to me. This past year was the toughest of my life.”
Argentine fifth seed Federico Delbonis began with a victory on a day where play was delayed by rain, beating German Dustin Brown 6-3, 6-3.
Argentine Juan Monaco put out Victor Hanescu 6-4, 7-5, while Kazakh Andrey Golubev advanced over Spain’s Inigo Cervantes 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
ATLANTA OPEN
AFP, ATLANTA, Georgia
Israel’s Dudi Sela and the US’ Sam Querrey advanced to the second round of the ATP Atlanta Open with victories on Monday, while French third seed Gael Monfils withdrew from the event.
Sela ousted the US’ Donald Young 6-3, 6-0, while Querrey blasted 20 aces in eliminating countryman Steve Johnson 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 in the US$568,000 hardcourt event, an early warm-up tournament for the US Open.
CROATIA OPEN
AP, UMAG, Croatia
Pablo Carreno Busta saved two match points to defeat Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 and reach the second round of the Croatia Open on Monday.
Lorenzi won the first set and got an early break in the second, but the 57th-ranked Carreno Busta then won six straight games to level. The Italian broke again in the third set and led 5-3, before his Spanish opponent rallied to win the match.
Croatia’s Borna Coric upset seventh-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 6-2, 6-4 for his first ever ATP-level victory.
“It was one of the best matches I have ever played,” the 17-year-old Coric said. “I still don’t know what happened, I served so well.”
Fabio Fognini is the top-seeded player, followed by Tommy Robredo and Marin Cilic. They all have first-round byes.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday sparked defending champions Oklahoma City to victory, while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA’s best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. “We locked in defensively. We were finally able to get some stops,” Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins said. “We were able to get out in transition a little bit, get going offensively and find the flow.” Jalen Williams scored 18 points, while
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
The US’ Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during an alpine ski women’s World Cup slalom in Flachau, Austria, on Tuesday. She won the slalom for the sixth time this season.
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