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.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS