US third seed Sam Querrey fired 11 aces in a first-round victory on Monday over Frenchman Arnaud Clement, proving a competent fill-in for Andy Roddick at the ATP Indianapolis Championships.
A 6-3, 6-4 victory in 73 minutes put Querrey alongside seventh-seeded Marc Gicquel of France and eighth-seeded Uzbek Denis Istomin in reaching the second round at the US$450,000 hardcourt tournament.
Gicquel drove another spike into the heart of a losing season for once-promising Ernests Gulbis, hammering the Latvian 6-2, 6-3, while Istomin staged a comeback to eliminate American Kevin Kim 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Querrey is the top-ranked American in the field after Wimbledon finalist Roddick withdrew because of the hip flexor injury that bothered him during his All-England club loss to Roger Federer a fortnight ago.
■GERMAN OPEN
REUTERS, BERLIN
German Philipp Petzschner led the way as a group of his compatriots advanced to the second round of the German Open on Monday with the top seeds not scheduled for action until yesterday.
The world No. 49 beat Frenchman Florent Serra 7-6, 6-2 to set up a meeting with second seed Nikolay Davydenko.
German wildcard Daniel Brands, was made to work hard for a set and a half before beating Romanian Victor Crivoi 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. Brands next faces top seed Frenchman Gilles Simon.
■SLOVENIA OPEN
AP, PORTOROZ, SLOVENIA
Top-ranked Dinara Safina easily advanced to the second round of the Slovenia Open on Monday by beating Tadeja Majeric 6-0, 6-4.
Majeric, an 18-year-old Slovenian ranked No. 277, seemed nervous at the start and won just eight points during the first set while double-faulting seven times.
Also on Monday, third-seeded Kaia Kanepi of Estonia was knocked out by Olga Gotortsova of Belarus, 6-1, 6-2.
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
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
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