World No. 1 Roger Federer said he had to get tough and forget about the beautiful side of his game to beat Germany’s Bjorn Phau 6-3, 6-4 at the Estoril Open and post his first win of the clay season on Wednesday.
The Swiss made the worst possible start to the season, crashing out at the first hurdle in Rome against Latvian Ernests Gublis last month, so he was happy to beat the 138th-ranked German, even if he had to opt for a pragmatic approach.
Federer, who won the tournament in 2008, appeared to be in control of the match, but did have to save three break-points as he served for the first set.
After receiving a bye in the first round, the win against Phau earned Federer a quarter-final berth against Frenchman Arnaud Clement today.
Looking ahead to the French Open, which starts at Roland Garros on May 23, Federer said winning the tournament for the first time last year would give him an “edge” this time.
Fourth-seed Albert Montanes also booked a quarter-final spot on Wednesday, beating Spanish compatriot Daniel Gimeno Traver 6-1, 6-2. Eighth seed Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas battled to beat Spain’s Marcel Granollers 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (7/2).
Second seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic has pulled out because of a muscle injury which prevents him from serving, a spokesman for the tournament said.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
RSS