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.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early on Tuesday struck out 11 in five shutout innings to match a franchise record during his MLB debut against the Oakland Athletics. “Pretty sick performance,” teammate Romy Gonzalez said. “It was fun to watch.” The only other Red Sox starter to rack up 11 strikeouts in his first career game was Don Aase versus the Milwaukee Brewers on July 26, 1977. “It was amazing, just to go out there and have that first opportunity,” Early said after getting the win in a 6-0 victory. “A long day of travel yesterday and just getting to the field, seeing
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China’s state-run People’s Daily newspaper on Monday published an essay about Chinese basketball it said was written by LeBron James, but a representative for the NBA star said on Thursday that the article was based on a series of interviews. The paper, better known as the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, had said James authored the essay, “Basketball is a Bridge that Connects Us,” a tribute to Chinese players and fans of the sport written in the first person. “LeBron James Pens an Article in the People’s Daily,” read a post published on the newspaper’s official WeChat account. On Thursday, a representative
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