Top-seeded Elena Dementieva was defeated 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (4) by Virginie Razzano at the Eastbourne International on Wednesday, joining the long list of ousted seeds.
The Russian claimed just 29 percent of the points in the first set, and although she recovered to win a ragged second set in windy conditions, her French opponent clinched the upset in a tiebreaker.
After two rounds, only two seeds remain in the women’s draw and three in the men’s draw.
Former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo was beaten 7-6 (8), 7-6 (13) by Ekaterina Makarova of Russia after she built commanding leads in each set. After the match she was at a loss to understand why.
“It’s a cruel match to lose,” Mauresmo said. “This one was not for me, I guess. I had opportunities and was not able to take them, not able to do the right shot at the right time.”
Nadia Petrova smashed her racket in frustration as she was forced to retire against fellow Russian Vera Dushevina with a back injury.
The seventh seed had won the first set 7-5, but lost the opening game of the second set before quitting.
Li Na of China also quit with an abdominal strain while trailing 3-1 against defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.
On the men’s side, second-seeded Dmitry Tursunov came within two points of defeat against British qualifier Alex Bogdanovic, before edging the 2 hour, 33-minute match 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (5). Sixth-seeded American Sam Querrey failed to advance when he was beaten 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 by Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.
■ORDINA OPEN
AP, DEN BOSCH, NETHERLANDS
Defending champion David Ferrer reached the quarter-finals at the Ordina Open Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-3 win over compatriot Oscar Hernandez.
Ferrer’s next opponent at the grass court tournament is fellow Spaniard Ivan Navarro, who upset last year’s losing finalist Marc Gicquel.
German qualifier Benjamin Becker, who ousted top-seeded Fernando Verdasco on Tuesday, will play 2004 champion Michael Llodra in the last eight.
Fourth-seeded Rainer Schuettler of Germany advanced to the quarter-finals by beating Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands 6-3, 7-6 (3). Schuettler next plays seventh-seeded Jeremy Chardy of France.
In the women’s draw, sixth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia advanced to the quarter-final after beating Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.
In an unfortunate day for the Bondarenko sisters, Alona Bondarenko crashed out after losing 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 to fifth-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy. Schiavone next meets Olga Govortsova of Belarus, who defeated Nathalie Dechy of France 6-1, 6-3.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu of China yesterday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, while Naomi Osaka retired from the women’s singles final with an abdominal injury. Second seeds Wu and Jiang defeated Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US 6-3, 6-4 on ASB Tennis Centre’s Stadium Court in 1 hour, 5 minutes. The WTA 250 victory was 25-year-old Wu’s second WTA Tour title, after winning the 2023 Hua Hin Championships in Thailand with Taiwanese partner Chan Hao-ching. Later that year, Wu and Taiwan’s Hsu Yu-hsiou won the mixed doubles gold at the World
SHORT-HANDED: Reigning champions the Boston Celtics were without stars Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, but they still downed the Timberwolves Oklahoma City on Thursday stretched the NBA’s best winning streak to 13 games with a home victory, while reigning champions the Boston Celtics held on for a last-shot triumph at Minnesota. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had game highs of 29 points and eight assists to spark the Thunder over the Los Angeles Clippers 116-98, improving the Western Conference leaders to 28-5. The Thunder’s winning streak is the longest since the team relocated from Seattle after the 2007-2008 season. “It’s just being present, going day by day, working on ourselves, and I think we’re doing a good job on that,” said Isaiah Hartenstein, who added 11