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.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
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