Defending champion Marin Cilic beat Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday in the first round of the Zagreb Indoors.
The top-seeded Croat, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals last week, broke four times. He was to play Daniel Koellerer of Austria yesterday.
Ivan Ljubicic defeated Arnaud Clement of France 7-6 (4), 6-3. The second-seeded Croat will meet Lukas Lacko of Slovakia.
Ivo Karlovic also advanced to the second round after Antonio Veic retired at 5-4 because of an ankle injury in an all-Croatian match.
Third-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria and No. 4 Viktor Troicki of Serbia advanced to the quarter-finals after winning their second-round matches.
Melzer beat Olivier Rochus of Belgium 6-2, 6-3 and will play Illya Marchenko of Ukraine, who beat Croatia’s Ivan Dodig 6-4, 6-2. Troicki downed Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 7-5, 7-5.
■SA TENNIS OPEN
AP, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
Third-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain, No. 5 Rajeev Ram of the US and No. 8 Stephane Robert of France won straight-set matches on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the SA Tennis Open.
Lopez beat Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia 6-2, 7-6 (4), Ram defeated Bjorn Phau of Germany 7-6 (10), 7-6 (2) and Robert downed Izak van der Merwe of South Africa 7-6 (7), 6-1.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
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