Unfancied Frenchman Julien Benneteau sent top seed and defending champion David Ferrer crashing out of the Heineken Open quarter finals in Auckland yesterday.
World No. 5 Ferrer looked uncomfortable as he was overwhelmed 6-4, 6-0 in a surprising reversal after the Spaniard's easy passage through the earlier rounds.
bad day
"Now is a bad day but tomorrow is another day and I have to work and get ready for the Australian Open," Ferrer said afterwards, praising the pressure applied by Benneteau.
The Frenchman, ranked 74 in the world, will meet former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in today's semi-final after the Spaniard beat Chilean qualifier Nicolas Massu 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Argentina's Juan Monaco beat Frenchman Michael Llodra in a two-and-a-half-hour nailbiter, coming back from a set down to win 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5).
His next match will be against German seventh seed Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Kohlschreiber defeated his compatriot Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4 in their quarter-final.
Benneteau has beaten Ferrer previously but few were picking the 26-year-old to do the same in Auckland.
He has been a big improver in the Auckland tournament, disposing of Spanish sixth seed Nicolas Almagro in three sets in the second round on Wednesday.
"It was a very, very good match for me," he said after beating Ferrer. "I tried a lot of things and it worked nice. It was a special feeling."
credit
Ferrer admitted he had had an off day but gave credit to the Frenchman.
"He's difficult to play because he plays very fast and returns a lot of balls," Ferrer said.
Third seed Monaco is the highest seed to make it through to the semis after coming close to being upset by Llodra, who won the ATP event in Adelaide last week.
The Frenchman, who won in Adelaide last weekend, appeared to be upset by a couple of close line calls later in the match, losing some of his focus.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS