Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was denied a place in the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open as the third seed lost on Friday to Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in a two-hour struggle.
Tsonga, bidding for the first clay title of his career, was unable to continue his reversal of momentum after coming back to win the second set. The seed lost a third-set break, but got it back for 2-3, only to drop serve again against the former world junior champion who claimed his first top 10 scalp.
De Bakker will play against second seed Robin Soderling, who quietly dispatched Argentine Eduardo Schwank 6-2, 6-3.
“So far, so good this week,” Soderling said. “It was tricky today with different conditions. It was quite cold and the balls are heavy, but overall I played a good match. I served well, managing to win quite a few easy points on my first serve.”
Spaniards have earned a popular confrontation at the top of the draw at the Real Club de Tenis in the absence of the resting Rafael Nadal.
Two-time runner-up David Ferrer moved to within one win of his third straight final in the Catalan capital, dispatching Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci 6-4, 6-0 in their quarter-final.
Standing in his way will be last week’s fifth-seeded Monte Carlo finalist Fernando Verdasco, who booked his spot with a 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) win over Latvian Ernests Gulbis.
“David is a top player, especially on clay,” Verdasco said.
“It will be good to have a Spanish semi-final and at least one of us will reach the final,” he said.
Eighth seed Ferrer played a match of two parts, struggling for an hour to win the opening set, but mopping up in the second with three breaks of promising South American Bellucci, ranked 33rd and a clay title winner two months ago in Chile.
Ferrer will be playing in his fourth consecutive semi-final at the Real Club de Tenis — he has lost the last two finals to Rafael Nadal — when he faces his countryman.
“I prefer playing Fernando because he’s Spanish, though he’s beaten me four of our last five matches,” Ferrer said. “When I was little, I came with my parents and I have dreamed many times of winning it. Playing at home makes you play more motivated.”
Verdasco took two hours to get past world No. 101 Gulbis, who had not lost a set through the week, but the Spaniard had to save six break-points in the 11th game of the second set on the way to victory.
Taiwan’s participation in the Olympic Games has been a story of politics as much as sports, with the name it has competed under since 1984 — Chinese Taipei — drawing as much attention as its athletes. However, with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad set to begin in Paris on Friday, the exploits of Taiwan’s athletes past and present who have won 36 medals since the country’s debut in Melbourne in 1956 deserve a nod. Many of Taiwan’s medal winners have gained considerable name recognition, but only two have achieved legendary status — Maysang Kalimud and Chi Cheng, the only medal winners
In April last year, Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying finally opened up about her future in the sport in which she had competed professionally since 2009. “My plan is to retire after the end of next year’s season. Even if I’m still able to compete, I would prefer not to,” she said at a promotional event. If true, the Paris Olympics would be her last stab at an Olympic gold medal, a prize some might think a player who has topped the rankings in women’s singles for a record total of 214 weeks — between December 2016 and September 2022 — should
Vivian Kong on Saturday won Hong Kong’s third ever Olympic gold medal, disappointing the home crowd as she beat France’s Auriane Mallo-Breton 13-12 in sudden death in the women’s epee final. Kong wiped away tears after she clinched the title, having held her nerve when she trailed 7-1 in the second period and with a passionate home crowd, including French President Emmanuel Macron, urging Mallo-Breton on. Her gold emulates that of fellow fencer Cheung Ka-long in the men’s foil in Tokyo three years ago and sailor Lee Lai-shan who won the women’s sailboard title at Atlanta in 1996. “I just thought it was
POLYNESIAN FOCUS: The separate opening event welcomed visitors with Tahitian dancing, while athletes participated in rituals to mark the occasion Tahitian dancers in palm-leaf skirts mingled with Olympic surfers, locals and tourists as the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games commenced in French Polynesia on Friday, about 16,000km from the main ceremony in Paris. “The people of Tahiti, we are all enchanted to have these Olympics Games here and to welcome all our friends from all over the world,” French Polynesia President Moetai Brotherson told reporters. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. All the world is looking at us for this mighty wave.” Just steps from the ocean and set against the lush green mountains of Tahiti, the event was heavily