Argentina's Diego Hartfield surprised second-seeded German Tommy Haas 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 on Monday in the opening round of the ATP Delray Beach International Tennis Championships.
Hartfield, playing here for the first time, converted five of his 17 break point opportunities to hand Haas a defeat in the German's first outing of the year.
He needed just one hour and 55 minutes to send the 2006 Delray Beach champion packing.
"I'm very happy," said Hartfield, who claimed the first hardcourt match of his career in five attempts. "I always knew I could play good on hard courts. I was practicing in Buenos Aires on hard courts before Australia and I was playing good."
Haas, who had shoulder surgery in November, has seen his ranking fall from a year-end No. 12 to No. 27 after missing the first six weeks of the year.
He spent 22 weeks inside the top 10 last year as he won the title in Memphis and reached the Australian Open semi-finals and US Open quarter-finals.
"Overall [the shoulder] feels good," Haas said. "It's my first test. Unfortunately the shoulder went away a bit at the end of the second set. I didn't have the pop anymore. I didn't really have any pain, just no power."
Hartfield will play American Bobby Reynolds, who beat defending champion Xavier Malisse of Belgium 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
BRASIL OPEN
AP, COSTA DO SAUIPE, BRAZIL
Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten began his professional tennis farewell tour with a first-round doubles loss at the Brasil Open.
Kuerten and countryman Andre Baran went down 6-3, 6-3 to Italy's Fabio Fognini and Filippo Volandri on Monday in this seaside resort in northeastern Brazil.
Kuerten announced last month he will retire from professional tennis after the next French Open, which starts on May 26 at Roland Garros.
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday exited at the BWF World Tour Finals in China, losing in the semi-finals to China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Shi, who was named the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year, had a 9-4 record against Chou going into the match. He extended that record to 9-5 with a 21-14, 21-18 victory. Chou advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals on Friday by upsetting top-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a must-win match at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 victory saw Chou secure his second semi-finals appearance at the tournament, despite his relatively older
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion on Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who won the title at the age of 22. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier
RSS