Thiem Beats Almagro For Buenos Aires 2016 Title
Thiem Beats Almagro For Buenos Aires 2016 Title
Feb172016
Unranked Thai player Jatuporn Nalamphun has received an 18-month ban and a $5,000 (£3,490) fine after being found guilty of betting offences under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme.
Nalamphun, 22, admitted to committing three betting offences in 2014.
He was also found guilty of failing to co-operate with an investigation by the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU), a charge he contested.
Nalamphun’s fine comfortably exceeds his career earnings of $682 (£476).
He is the first player to be sanctioned by the TIU since the BBC and BuzzFeed published revelations about match-fixing in the sport.
Following the report, the Tennis Integrity Board said it would start an independent review into their anti-corruption practices.
Tennis coach Nigel Sears believes his collapse at the Australian Open was caused “by a bad piece of sushi”.
Sears, the coach to world number 17 Ana Ivanovic, fell while watching the Serb play in round three against Madison Keys on Rod Laver Arena on 23 January.
His son-in-law, men’s world number two Andy Murray, was playing on a nearby court at the time of the incident.
“I really don’t think it’s likely my collapse was down to exertion,” Sears, 58, told the Times.
“I know I was such big news at home, but it was a really strange one and I’m just really sorry I worried a lot of people unnecessarily.
“Frankly, now I feel a bit of a fraud.”
Doctors at the Epworth Hospital in Melbourne and at his home in Sussex are still not totally sure what caused his collapse, but Sears believes it was an allergic reaction.
“I had sushi for 10 days in a row in Melbourne and was fine. But I suppose the law of averages dictates, you get one dodgy bit of raw fish in that time,” he added.
Kim Sears, his daughter and Murray’s wife, was heavily pregnant at the time of his collapse. She has since given birth to a baby daughter.
Murray, who went on to reach the final in Melbourne, said he would have quit the tournament if the news of Sears’ health had not been positive.
Top seed sees off youngest compatriot in the Top 100
Top seed and 2014 champion Rafael Nadal has launched his Rio Open campaign with victory over countryman Pablo Carreno Busta in a rain-interrupted 6-1, 6-4 match. The former World No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings landed five of seven break point opportunities in the one-hour, 20-minute encounter on Tuesday night to book a second-round showdown with another of his compatriots, Nicolas Almagro.
Nadal carries a 13-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Almagro. Carreno Busta, the youngest of 14 Spaniards in the Top 100, was looking for his first career win over a Top 10 opponent. Against Nadal, he would have to win for the first time in three encounters. And he did not make the start he had hoped for, being broke to love for 2-0 on Quadra Guga Kuerten.
Nadal secured a second break for 5-1 and served out the opening set 6-1 on his second set point before rain suspended the match. At the resumption of play, Nadal secured the early break for 2-1, the first of five consecutive breaks between the pair, before serving it out 6-4 after one hour and 22 minutes.
Former World No. 4 eases past Kudla in first round
Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro has made a triumphant return to the ATP World Tour at the Delray Beach Open after almost a year on the sidelines. The 2009 US Open champion, playing his first match since March last year, defeated American Denis Kudla 6-1, 6-4 in the first round on Tuesday night.
Delray Beach is a familiar comeback ground for the 27 year old. He won the title five years ago as the World No. 166 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on the comeback trail from right wrist surgery. On Tuesday night, he improved his unbeaten run there to six matches.
“I think winning a match after 11 months is the gift of the tournament for me,” the former World No. 4 said. “I’m so excited to keep working because I’m feeling if I do well and if I stay healthy my tennis will be behind me and maybe I can be dangerous one day again.
“I was nervous before the match and excited to see how my forehands and serves were going to be on court. I knew how my backhand would be … I’m still working and improving to have a very good backhand to compete in this level. For me it’s like winning a very important match in my career.”
Del Potro bolted out of the gates, breaking the American’s opening service game before holding for 3-0 after just 10 minutes. He secured the double break for 5-1 and served out the opener 6-1 after 24 minutes.
The Argentine broke in the opening game of the second and consolidated for 2-0. He sustained the advantage throughout the remainder of the set against the World No. 59, serving it out on his first match point in little more than an hour.
It marked a crucial step on his fourth comeback trail from injury, having played just two tournaments – Sydney and Miami – before undergoing left wrist surgery in January and again in June last year. He finished 2015 outside the Top 100 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the third time in six years due to wrist injuries.
“I don’t do anything special. I think the only thing to do is work hard and if you do before a tournament you have more chance to feel good,” del Potro said. “I have a great family and good friends who support me all the time. They were watching my match on TV in Argentina; it’s very late there. I know they’re very proud of me. They know how sad I was in the past.”
Defending champion unable to convert match points
One of the leading stars of the Next Generation, Nick Kyrgios, made a successful return to action on Tuesday in Marseille as he defeated Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the Open 13 Provence.
The 20-year-old Australian is playing just his second tournament of the year, after reaching the third round at the Australian Open (l. to Berdych). On his Marseille debut, Kyrgios broke Pospisil twice to secure victory in 70 minutes.
“I knew it would be a tough match,” said Kyrgios. “He’s a great player, he has a great serve, he loves fast surface so I knew I had to play well and serve well and I’m happy that I managed to do it.”
Kyrgios goes on to face Teymuraz Gabashvili, who saved three match points as he upset defending champion Gilles Simon 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(7). The Russian trailed 6-4 in the tie-break and faced another match point at 7-6 before converting his first opportunity after two hours and 30 minutes.
The fifth-seeded Simon won the title at this ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard-court tournament last year with victory over Gael Monfils in an all-French final. He had also lifted the trophy in 2007 (d. Baghdatis).
The 30-year-old Gabashvili was a semi-finalist in Sydney last month (l. to Troicki) and has a 5-4 match record on the season.
Sergiy Stakhovsky will face top seed Stan Wawrinka in the second round after beating Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5) in one hour and 54 minutes. “I feel fantastic!” said Stakhovsky, who struck 12 aces to get off the mark in his 2016 ATP World Tour campaign. “After my first win of 2016, how else am I supposed to feel? I’m feeling great.”
Lopez also fell in his first-round doubles match Tuesday. Teaming up with fellow Spaniard Marc Lopez, the top seeds fell to Robin Haase and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi 7-6(0), 7-6(6).
Ernests Gulbis set a second-round clash with third seed Richard Gasquet as he edged qualifier Kenny De Schepper 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(2) in two hours and 13 minutes. After missing a match point in the second set tie-break, Gulbis rallied from an early break deficit in the decider to claim victory in another tie-break, firing 16 aces.
In the same quarter of the draw, Mischa Zverev and Sascha Zverev both advanced with straight-sets wins. Mischa, a qualifier, beat wild card Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-2, 7-5 to set a second-round meeting with sixth seed David Goffin. Sascha will challenge No. 2 seed Tomas Berdych after closing out a 7-6(4), 7-5 victory over qualifier Julien Benneteau. The 18 year old will be looking to reach the quarter-finals for the third time in as many weeks.
“I played quite well, I think,” he said. “This next match against Tomas will be one of the toughest ones of these three weeks, and we’ll see how I am, but from my game point of view, I’m ready for him.”
Another Frenchman fell as Andrey Kuznetsov defeated Lucas Pouille 7-6(1), 6-4 in one hour and 32 minutes.