Roger Federer on Monday began his charge for a 100th career title by dispatching Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 on a windy Centre Court in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Second seed Federer had to deal with a tricky opponent and strong gusts at the Aviation Club in front of nearly 5,500 fans, needing all three sets to make it past the opening round.
The Swiss, a seven-time Dubai champion, had to go up a gear in the third set to advance to a second-round meeting with Fernando Verdasco after German Kohlschreiber made a match of it by winning the second.
Photo: Reuters
“I’m just happy to get through, it was tricky conditions out there,” the 20-time Grand Slam champion said after his 14th straight win over Kohlschreiber, his friend and practice partner. “Philipp caused me a lot of trouble and we played in swirly conditions. All of a sudden it [the wind] could stop and you could be a break down. That also plays in your head a little bit. I know the game’s there. It was just really difficult conditions tonight.”
Federer, who is seeded behind Kei Nishikori, swept the opening set after breaking in the first game, but was pegged back.
World No. 31 Kohlschreiber made a match of it in the second set, breaking Federer three times on his way to taking the set 6-3.
The final game of the set was a nine-minute thriller, with the Swiss seed saving three set points, before Kohlschreiber leveled the match with a volleyed winner, but Federer cruised to the third set and the next round.
Earlier on Monday, seeds Karen Khachanov and Milos Raonic suffered surprise first-round exits in testing conditions.
Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili stunned Russian fourth seed Khachanov 6-4, 6-1, while world No. 14 Raonic was beaten on his Dubai debut 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 by German Jan-Lennard Struff.
Khachanov went down in just 69 minutes to world No. 19 Basilashvili, winner of two titles last season, as winds played havoc during the day.
“I know Karen is not having his best time at this moment, but I also did not have great beginning of the season,” Basilashvili said. “I was able to manage my nerves just [for the] whole match, especially in the windy conditions. It was really tough, [and I’m] really happy for sure.”
Raonic battled for more than two hours, but he was unable to get past Struff.
In an unusual incident, one of Raonic’s rocket serves struck a ball girl straight in face.
After a five-minute pause for treatment, she was led off court, but the girl returned at the end of the match and shook hands with the player, who gave her a racket.
The Canadian fired 15 aces in his losing effort, dropping serve twice.
Struff advanced into a second-round match with Marton Fucsovics after the Hungarian defeated Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 7-6 (7/5).
Former finalist Verdasco smashed 13 aces as he put out Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS