Clay-court specialist Nicolas Almagro defeated second-seeded Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 7-5 at the Estoril Open on Saturday to reach his second final of the season.
Almagro is to face fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who upset third-seeded Benoit Paire of France 6-3, 6-3 in the other semi-final.
The 71st-ranked Almagro saved the only two break points he conceded in the entire match. He served seven aces and lost only five points on his first serve to reach his second final after losing to Dominic Thiem in Argentina in February.
Photo: EPA
Kyrgios, ranked in the top 20 for the first time in his career, was trying to win his second title after triumphing in Marseille, France, in February.
“I thought he played better in the conditions today,” Kyrgios said. “I did not serve great, but he was too good. For a first week on the clay, it was not too bad. I played two quality matches.”
The 30-year-old Almagro has 12 career titles, all on clay. He has not won a tournament since May 2012.
MUNICH OPEN
AFP, BERLIN
Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber was aiming to win the Munich Open for the third time after blasting past Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-4 in Saturday’s semi-final.
In yesterday’s final, Kohlschreiber, 32, who won the title in 2007 and 2012, but lost to Britain’s Andy Murray in last year’s final, was to face Austria’s rising star Dominic Thiem, who is ranked 15th in the world, but has hit a rich vein of form.
With 26 wins and two titles already this season, Thiem fought back from losing the first set in his semi-final to beat German teenager Alexander Zverev and seal a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory on clay to end the run of his 19-year-old opponent.
ISTANBUL OPEN
AP, ISTANBUL, Turkey
Second-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria was yesterday to face unseeded Diego Schwartzman of Argentina in the final of the Istanbul Open, with the two players meeting for the first time.
Dimitrov reached his eighth ATP Tour final by defeating third-seeded Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (7/2) in their semi-final.
Big-serving Karlovic served nine aces and never faced a break point, but Dimitrov hit 10 aces and dominated both tiebreakers to get a chance of claiming his fifth title.
Schwartzman came back from a set down to upset fourth-seeded Federico Delbonis 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-2. It was Schwartzman’s first win over his countryman after two losses.
Schwartzman failed to serve out the first set at 5-4, but prevailed in the following two sets to advance.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
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