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Nadal Dominates To Begin Quest For 10th Barcelona Crown

Posted: Apr 26, 2017

Nadal Dominates To Begin Quest For 10th Barcelona Crown

Apr262017

Spaniard will next face former Top 10 player Kevin Anderson

Rafael Nadal’s quest for a record 10^th Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell title started with a dominating performance on Wednesday in the Spanish city. Nadal, playing on the newly-named Pista Rafa Nadal, hit 23 winners and dismissed Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-1, 6-2 in 75 minutes.

“I want to thank the club for this honour. It’s one of the most important tournaments for me, one of the courts where I had the best moments of my career,” Nadal said on court after the second-round victory. “This place has meant a lot to me since forever, and [that] the club has decided to name the centre court with my name makes it even more special.”

The third-seeded Spaniard had all of his shots working in his first match since winning his 10^th Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters title on Sunday – backhand winners up the line, well-disguised drop shots and baseline forehands and backhands that produced grueling rallies against the 33-year-old Brazilian. Nadal improves to 49-3 in Barcelona and will face South African Kevin Anderson in the third round. Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-0.

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Fifth seed David Goffin continued his great start on clay, moving into the third round with a 7-5, 6-0 victory against Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, a finalist in Memphis earlier this season. Goffin reached his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final last week at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. The 26-year-old Belgian will next meet #NextGenATP player Karen Khachanov, who prevailed against 11^th seed Pablo Cuevas 7-6(5), 7-6(5).

Spaniard Feliciano Lopez sent countryman wild card Albert Montanes into retirement, 6-2, 6-2 in 61 minutes. Montanes, who made his Barcelona debut 16 years ago, is retiring after this week. The 36 year old is a six-time ATP World Tour champion and reached a career-high of No. 22 on 2 August 2010.

Lopez will face top seed Andy Murray, who moved into the third round after Aussie Bernard Tomic withdrew from their scheduled contest due to a lower back injury.

Hyeon Chung set-up an-all #NextGenATP third-round affair against 19-year-old Alexander Zverev. The South Korean qualifier won all three break points to upset 12^th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, a five-time clay-court titlist, 6-3, 6-4.

You May Also Like: Karlovic Opens Budapest Campaign With Win

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Karlovic Opens Budapest Campaign With Win

Posted: Apr 26, 2017

Karlovic Opens Budapest Campaign With Win

Apr262017

Verdasco advances on Wednesday

Second seed Ivo Karlovic weathered a stern test on Wednesday at the Gazprom Hungarian Open, being pushed to the brink before reaching the quarter-finals 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 over Damir Dzumhur.

“I’m happy with the win today. Clay isn’t my best surface, but I can also have some good wins on it,” said Karlovic. “I haven’t been to Budapest in 13 years, but I remember that the structures here are unbelievable. It’s a nice town, so I was really looking forward to coming back.”

Karlovic went on a five-game run to take the opening set, but the Bosnian responded by grabbing the lone break of the second set at 4-3. Both men traded comfortable service holds throughout the decider, but Karlovic raised his level in the final game by breaking Dzumhur to take the win in one hour and 25 minutes.

Karlovic served a modest eight aces for a season total of 277 from 13 matches. Only John Isner (283 from 13 matches) has served more aces this season.

View 2017 Ace Leaders In Infosys Scores & Stats

The 38-year-old Croatian is through to his second ATP World Tour quarter-final of 2017, having opened the season by reaching the last eight in Doha. He also improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head over Dzumhur to 2-0.

Next up for Karlovic is qualifier Aljaz Bedene, who didn’t drop serve in defeating Robin Haase 6-4, 6-4. The Brit has been enjoying a rich run of form this month, having also won back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles on clay.

You May Also Like: Murray Through As Rain Hits Barcelona

Fourth seed Fernando Verdasco ended the local hopes of a home quarter-finalist by defeating wild card Marton Fucsovics 7-6(6), 6-3. The Spaniard rallied from 4/6 in the first-set tie-break en route to claiming victory in one hour and 28 minutes. Verdasco opened his clay season earlier this month with a quarter-final finish in Houston.

“When you play a local player, it doesn’t matter what their [Emirates ATP Ranking] is. They’re going to be very motivated and pumped up,” said Verdasco. “I came out mentally prepared knowing that anything could happen. It was a very close match, so I’m happy with the way I turned things around and finished the match.”

He’ll next play qualifier Laslo Djere, who completed a remarkable 7-5, 6-2 comeback over Viktor Troicki. Djere rallied from 0-5 in the first set and saved a set point on his serve at 2-5 and 4-5. The 21-year-old Serbian won the final five games to reach his first ATP World Tour quarter-final in one hour and 45 minutes. He previously won his first ATP World Tour main draw match earlier this month in Marrakech.

DOUBLES

The lone quarter-final match of the day saw fourth seeds Brian Baker and Nikola Mektic defeat local wild cards Attila Balazs and Gabor Borsos 6-2, 7-6(2). The Hungarians served for the second set at 5-4, but Baker/Mektic saved two set points on the way to prevailing in 77 minutes. Baker/Mektic won their first ATP World Tour doubles title this February in Memphis.

In first-round matches, Sam Groth and Robert Lindstedt reached the quarter-finals by sweeping through Borna Coric and Steve Darcis 6-4, 6-2 in 61 minutes. Next up for them is second seeds Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi, who defeated Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus 6-3, 6-3. Haase and Dominic Inglot are also through to the last eight after beating Lucas Pouille and Gilles Simon 7-6(5), 6-1. Haase/Inglot will next play top seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic.

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Maria Sharapova: Russian beats Roberta Vinca on return from doping ban

Posted: Apr 26, 2017

Maria Sharapova won on her return to action after a 15-month doping ban as she beat Roberta Vinci in the first round of the Stuttgart Open.

The Russian, who was suspended last March after testing positive for meldonium, beat the Italian 7-5 6-3.

There was no noticeable bad reception for the 30-year-old, who responded well to losing her first service game to take a tight opening set in Stuttgart.

She broke twice in the second to progress to face Ekaterina Makarova.

Sharapova, who hit 11 aces and 39 winners, said: “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.

“It’s the best feeling in the world, those first few seconds before you enter the arena. To know you were walking back out there was special.

“I spent a long time without hitting any balls. I didn’t know when I would be back. I went to school for a little bit, I grew my business and had a normal life. I put the racquet away for a little bit.

“I felt I had to grow as a person and I think I’ve done that. But this is what I’ve done for so long. I’m a competitor, that’s when I’m at my best.”

Sharapova capitalises on controversial wildcard

The decision to give five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova a wildcard entry for this event, as well as upcoming tournaments in Madrid and Rome, has been questioned by a number of players, including her Italian first-round opponent.

However, it has been defended by WTA chief Steve Simon, who said it is in keeping with how former dopers are treated in other sports, adding that she was “starting at ground zero”.

This was a positive start to the process of rebuilding her world ranking points against the woman ranked 34th in the world.

She was understandably rusty but brushed off a nervous start to break Vinci at the first opportunity after losing her first service game, showing ominous signs with a string of big winners.

Vinci was then taken to deuce in every subsequent service game until the pressure finally told, with Sharapova taking a 6-5 lead which she then served out to take the first set.

Sharapova started the second set with another break of serve to win her fourth game in a row and leave Vinci reeling.

The Italian held on to take the set to 4-3 but ultimately the Russian’s superiority showed with a break to love and an easily-won final service game.

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Murray Through As Rain Hits Barcelona

Posted: Apr 26, 2017

Murray Through As Rain Hits Barcelona

Apr262017

No play as yet on Wednesday

Rain has delayed the start of second-round play on Wednesday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

No matches have taken the court yet, but World No. 1 Andy Murray is through to the third round after Bernard Tomic withdrew from their scheduled contest due to a lower back injury.

You May Also Like: Special Memories For Murray On Barcelona Return

When the weather clears, Feliciano Lopez will be up first against Albert Montanes, before nine-time champion Rafael Nadal takes to the court named in his honour.

View Wednesday Revised Schedule

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Johanna Konta: British number one beats Naomi Osaka in Stuttgart

Posted: Apr 26, 2017

Johanna Konta put a difficult week behind her to reach the second round of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart with victory over Japan’s Naomi Osaka.

Konta, who left the court in tears after being verbally abused by Romania captain Ilie Nastase in a Fed Cup tie last week, won 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-1.

The British number one found it tough but Osaka’s challenge faded in set three as she struggled with an injury.

Konta will face Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova in round two.

The 25-year-old told BT Sport: “I think obviously you could tell she [Osaka] was struggling, I hope everything is OK with her and she recovers quickly.

“It was just important for me to stay on my own game. Even though I lost the second set I didn’t feel like I did much wrong.”

Konta had not dropped a set in two previous meetings with 19-year-old Osaka but clay is her weakest surface.

The world number seven struggled for consistency in the opening two sets but the key moment came when she saved two break points in the third game of the third set before then breaking Osaka’s serve in the next.

Murray benefits from Tomic withdrawal

Andy Murray is through to the third round of the Barcelona Open after Australia’s Bernard Tomic withdrew before the match with an injured back.

Murray, 29, will play the winner between Spanish pair Albert Montanes and Feliciano Lopez in the last 16.

The world number one accepted a late wildcard for Barcelona after his third-round defeat by Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Monte Carlo on Thursday.

Fellow Briton Dan Evans faces Austria’s Dominic Thiem in the third round.

Both Evans and Murray will play their matches on Thursday.

Elsewhere, Britain’s Aljaz Bedene beat the Netherlands’ world number 46 Robin Haase 6-4 6-4 in the second round of the Hungarian Open in Budapest.

It was the 14th win in a row for Bedene, ranked 68th in the world, who will play either Ivo Karlovic or Damir Dzumhur in the next round.

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Maria Sharapova: Russian to learn French Open fate on 16 May

Posted: Apr 26, 2017

Former world number one Maria Sharapova will find out on 16 May if she has been given a wildcard for the French Open.

The 30-year-old Russian’s 15-month ban for using meldonium ends on Wednesday when she plays in the first round of the Stuttgart Open as a wildcard entry.

French federation president Bernard Giudicelli said he would call Sharapova before the decision is made public on Facebook at 18:00 BST.

Sharapova is a two-time winner at Roland Garros, which starts on 28 May.

Giudicelli, who said he will discuss Sharapova’s wildcard with French Open tournament director Guy Forget on 15 May, added: “The tournament is bigger than the players.”

The five-time Grand Slam champion practised on Wednesday morning for the first time since her ban, before her match against Italy’s Roberta Vinci.

Vinci has questioned the decision to give the Russian wildcards, but it has been defended by WTA chief Steve Simon, who said it is in keeping with how former dopers are treated in other sports.

In addition to Stuttgart, Sharapova has been granted wildcards by the organisers of the events in Madrid and Rome.

She does not have a world ranking after her points expired during her suspension and would need to reach the final in Stuttgart to be eligible for French Open qualifying.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Sharapova is likely to be given a wildcard into qualifying at Roland Garros rather than the tournament’s main draw.

Meanwhile, the prize money for the French Open has been increased by 12% to 36 millions euros (£30.5m).

The winners will win 2.1 million euros each, a 100,000-euro increase from 2016, with first-round losers earning 35,000 euros.

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Serena Williams: World number two revealed pregnancy news by accident

Posted: Apr 26, 2017

Serena Williams says she revealed her pregnancy by accident, after mistakenly uploading a photograph on Snapchat.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner posted a picture on the social media app, posing in a mirror with the message: “20 weeks”, before deleting it, with her publicist later confirming the news.

Williams, 35, said she took photographs every week to track the pregnancy.

“I was just saving them [for myself]” she said. “I’ve been so good about it, but this was the one time it slipped.”

How can you win a Grand Slam when you’re pregnant?

The world number one, who is due to give birth in the autumn, said she discovered she was pregnant just two days before the Australian Open in January.

The American went on to beat sister Venus in the final and win her an Open-era record 23rd Grand Slam singles title.

“It wasn’t very easy,” she said. “You hear all these stories about people when they’re pregnant – they get sick, they get really tired, really stressed out.

“I had to really take all that energy and put it in a paper bag, so to say, and throw it away.

“Pregnant or not, no-one knew and I was supposed to win that tournament. Every time I play, I’m expected to win. If I don’t win, it’s actually much bigger news.”

Williams, who is taking maternity leave for the rest of the 2017 season, said there was no change to her plan to return to the tour as a mother next year.

“I definitely plan on coming back. I’m not done yet,” said Williams, who credited 36-year-old sister Venus for inspiration.

“If she’s still playing, I know I can play. This [motherhood] is just a new part of my life. My baby’s going to be in the stands and hopefully cheering for me.”

On Tuesday, Williams called Ilie Nastase’s comments about her unborn child “racist”.

Nastase, a former world number one and two-time Grand Slam winner, was heard speculating whether Williams’ child would be “chocolate with milk?” at a news conference before Romania’s Fed Cup tie with Great Britain last week.

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