Jamie Murray receives OBE from the Queen
Jamie Murray receives an OBE from the Queen for his services to sport and charity.
Jamie Murray receives an OBE from the Queen for his services to sport and charity.
Svetlana Kuznetsova hacked off part of her own hair at a changeover as she beat defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska at the WTA Finals.
The 31-year-old Russian, who qualified for the event ahead of Britain’s Johanna Konta, cut her ponytail with scissors at the start of the third set.
“It was bothering me a lot. When I was hitting the forehands I hit a good shot and it would hit my eye,” she said.
“I thought, ‘what’s more important? My hair, which can grow, or the match?'”
Kuznetsova asked the umpire to supply her with a pair of scissors to carry out her impromptu haircut.
Radwanska said she was unaware of the incident, but agreed with her opponent’s priorities.
“I didn’t even know that,” said the Pole. “Good thing she didn’t cut her anything else. I think hair is not very important.”
It was just one dramatic moment in a three-hour match in which Kuznetsova recovered from 4-1 down to take the first set, saved a match point in the third and was tearful at a changeover before prevailing 7-5 1-6 7-5.
Kuznetsova endured a hectic build-up to the season finale, winning the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Saturday to collect the ranking points she needed to edge out Konta in the race for the eighth and final qualifying spot before flying to Singapore.
It is not the first time a tennis player has taken action after being distracted by their own locks on court. Britain’s Andy Murray snipped his fringe during his defeat by Rafael Nadal at last season’s ATP Finals.
In the White Group’s other match in Singapore, Karolina Pliskova also saved a match point as she overcame French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 7-5.
World number one Angelique Kerber, who beat Dominika Cibulkova in her Red Group opener on Monday, takes on Simona Halep in the pick of Tuesday’s matches, with Cibulkova playing Madison Keys in the other match.
Two players will progress from both the Red and White Groups to contest the semi-finals.
Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide.
Tecau/Rojer looking to return to London next month
Top seeds Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer advanced to the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel on Monday with a 6-3, 3-6, 10-3 win against Argentines Federico Delbonis and Guido Pella. Tecau/Rojer hadn’t played together since their fourth-round match at the US Open because Tecau had been out with a foot injury.
They won the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals last season and are trying to qualify for the year-end championships again this year. Tecau/Rojer are currently in ninth place in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, 295 points behind eighth-placed Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi. The top eight doubles teams at the end of the season will qualify for the year-end championships, to be held 13-20 Nov. at The O2 in London.
View The Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London
Tecau and Rojer might have a direct chance to make up some ground in the Basel quarter-finals. If Huey/Mirnyi win their first-round match, they’ll face Tecau/Rojer.
David Marrero and Marcin Matkowski also won in Basel, beating Marcos Baghdatis and Gilles Muller 7-5, 6-7(6), 10-1.
In Vienna, Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Joao Sousa 6-2, 7-6(4) in 98 minutes. Marach/Martin currently sit in 11th place in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, 285 points behind the No. 10 team, Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.
Fourth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo advanced 6-4, 6-4 against Nicholas Monroe and Artem Sitak.
Too many cooks in the kitchen? Not when the ATP World Tour stars in Vienna for the Erste Bank Open 500 swapped their tennis gear for chef hats and aprons as they learned to make the perfect Wiener Schnitzel.
David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez, Lucas Pouille, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan took their places behind the stovetops in an exclusive cooking class at the Plachuttas Gasthaus Zut Oper. The pros donned their personalised aprons and hats and each took on a particular role in making the schnitzel: slicing the veal in a rainbow cut, pounding the meat, covering it in flour and seasoning, dipping it in beaten eggs and bread crumbs, then finally deep frying and serving up the meal.
“I never did this before,” said Ferrer. “It’s difficult but it’s nice. It was a good experience. Maybe in the future I can cook it.”
“It was cool that they got us all decked out in chef gear,” said Bob Bryan, who taste-tested his own schnitzel. “It didn’t make us better chefs but we looked good.”
“My wife’s going to be very proud of me for cooking a meal… she’s going to be ecstatic when she sees this,” added Mike Bryan.
The players were all given certificates to celebrate their cooking class and were invited to stay for a special three course dinner along with their family and friends. No confirmation on whether or not the courses included their personally made Wiener Schnitzel!
But Lopez ultimately ended his experience optimistically, saying “I wish I could be the best cook in the world because I love food.”
Second seed Berdych also in action
The top ace leaders in this year’s Infosys ATP Scores & Stats served their way into the second round of the Erste Bank Open 500 on Monday in Vienna.
Eighth seed Ivo Karlovic, the top ace hitter before Monday with 1,003, blasted 16 more while beating Steve Johnson 7-6(5), 6-3. Karlovic, who also swept Johnson in Washington, saved all six break points against the American, who reached his first ATP World Tour final in Vienna last season (l. to Ferrer).
View more statistics at the ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS
The 37-year-old Croatian will meet Bosnian qualifier Damir Dzumhur, who outlasted Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 5-7, 6-0 in one hour and 40 minutes.
John Isner, who entered Monday second in aces with 997, struck 18 aces and saved all seven break points in his comeback win against German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-4. The American, who now has 1,015 aces, surpassed the 1,000 mark for the fourth time in his career. He also did in 2010, 2012 and 2015.
Karlovic has led the ATP World Tour in aces five times: 2007-09, ’14-15; Isner, three times: 2010, ’12-13. Isner will look to pad his total against seventh seed Lucas Pouille or Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the second round.
The youngest player in the Vienna draw also used some efficient serving to advance. Russian wild card Karen Khachanov won 82 per cent of his first-serve points to dismiss Italian Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-4 in 69 minutes. The 20 year old, a member of the ATP Next Generation, captured his maiden title earlier this month at the Chengdu Open (d. Ramos-Vinolas). Khachanov will next face second seed Tomas Berdych or Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Berdych is trying to make a final push to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The Czech is currently in ninth place in the Emirates ATP Race To London, 325 points behind eighth-placed Dominic Thiem, who’s the third seed in Vienna, his home tournament.
View the Emirates ATP Race To London standings