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 kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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