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Suarez to un-retire in Olympic bid

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:23:00 GMT

Argentina’s Paola Suarez is coming out of retirement in order to play the Olympics with Gisela Dulko, the tennis web site Fuebuena reports. The 35-year-old Suarez was standout doubles player, winning seven Grand Slams with Spain’s Virginia Ruano-Pascal. She and Dulko have entered the upcoming tournaments in Bogota and Acapulco.

Dulko is not playing with her regular partner, Italy’s Flavia Pennetta, this year because Pennetta and her countrywoman Francesca Schiavone have decided to team up for the Olympics. If Dulko stays in the top 10, she will automatically be given a spot in the Olympics, but because Suarez has been retired since 2007 and has not played or made herself available to play Fed Cup (which is a requirement) in the past two years, she will likely have to ask for an exemption.

France's Escude, Rezai in Fed Cup dispute

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:18:00 GMT

French captain Nicolas Escude and Aravane Rezai are in Fed Cup dispute that saw former top 15 player Rezai quit the team before this weekend’s tie against Slovakia in Bratislava. The French newspapers L’Equipe and Le Figaro report that Rezai claimed that she recanted, but Escude disputed that and said that the No. 123 ranked Rezai was incoherent. Rezai, who was not selected to the team, said that she was asked to leave Bratislava and was not allowed to stay and cheer on her teammates. The French captain chose Pauline Parmentier, Virginie Razzano, Alize Cornet and Kristina Mladenovic for the team. Rezai apparently lost her wild card into next week’s Paris Indoors and now will be forced to play the qualifying.

Baghdatis to play Lacko in Zagreb semifinals

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:15:00 GMT

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP)—Lukas Lacko of Slovakia beat seventh-seeded Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-4 Friday to reach the Zagreb Indoors semifinals.

Lacko, who earlier ousted second-seeded Alex Bogomolov Jr., will now face Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, who defeated defending champion Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-4, 7-5.

The sixth-seeded Baghdatis beat the fourth-seeded Dodig with little trouble, leaving the host country without representatives in the semifinals for the first time since 2006.

In another quarterfinal, third-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia defeated eighth-seeded Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 7-6 (10), 3-6, 7-6 (6).

Germany’s Michael Berrer also advanced, defeating Austria’s Jurgen Melzer 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Berrer, a finalist in 2010 and 2011, rallied after failing to convert five break points in the first set.

“I just feel very comfortable here,” Berrer said. “I had lot of respect for Melzer. … I knew it would be difficult and that I had to be on the top of my game to beat him.”

Berdych, Monfils, Simon reach Montpellier semis

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:01:00 GMT

MONTPELLIER, France (AP)—Tomas Berdych, Gilles Simon, defending champion Gael Monfils and Philipp Kohlschreiber reached the semifinals at the Open Sud de France.

Berdych, seeded first, finished off Nicolas Mahut of France with his 14th ace Friday, winning 6-3, 6-4. Simon, seeded second, edged wild card Guillaume Rufin 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-2 in an all-French quarterfinal.

Simon will play another Frenchman in the semis when he faces third-seeded Monfils, who cruised past Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-3, 6-3. Nieminen won the Sydney International last month.

Kohlschreiber, seeded seventh, served 18 aces in defeating fourth-seeded Richard Gasquet of France 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. The German will next play Berdych. This is Kohlschreiber’s second semifinal this season following last month’s Heineken Open in New Zealand.

Berdych outplayed Mahut in the first set, with the Czech making only two unforced errors. Mahut fought back in the second, but the Frenchman double-faulted to give the 2010 Wimbledon finalist a 4-3 lead.

Simon won when a backhand from Rufin sailed long. Rufin was hurt by his serve in the final set, double-faulting five times and making only 38 percent of his first attempts.

Simon took the first set tiebreaker on a forehand error from Rufin. Rufin hit two consecutive forehand winners to lead 6-2 in the second tiebreaker and evened the match at one set apiece when Simon netted a backhand.

Monfils broke serve twice to win the first set when Nieminen sent a backhand volley into the net. Nieminen hit a forehand wide to trail 3-1 in the second set. Monfils did not face a break point and won when Nieminen netted a backhand return.

Kournikova sells Miami home for $7.4 million

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:54:00 GMT

Anna Kournikova has sold her 6,630-square-foot home in Miami Beach's exclusive Sunset Island for $7.4 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. Former top 10 player Kournikova paid $5 million for the seven-bedroom waterfront home in 2000. The property has about 150 feet of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway and a coral-rock pool deck that surrounds a pool and Jacuzzi. Kournikova and her longtime partner, singer Enrique Iglesias, are building a new home in South Florida that is said to cost somewhere around $20 million.

Tomic plans to sell controversial sport car

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:52:00 GMT

Bernard Tomic has put the bright orange V8 BMW M3 sport car that has recently gotten him into trouble up for sale. The car retails for more than $150,000. "I wish to move forward from this and use it as part of my learning experience, so I've decided to sell my BMW," Tomic told the Courier-Mail. "I'll put my dream car on hold for a while and in the next few years I'll look again and hopefully I will be able to find a similar car. I now want to focus on my tennis without any distractions." Tomic has a court date on February 14 for driving the car in areas not permitted under his license.

Sabatini: Changes at top of WTA hard to follow

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:51:00 GMT

Former U.S. Open champion Gabriela Sabatini tells La Nacion that the depth at the top of the women’s game does have it negatives. "Today I see that the game is based more on power and speed," the Argentine said. "Then the constant rotation of players at the top makes it very difficult to follow or identify with any of them, as in the men's tour with Federer, Nadal or Djokovic. The power in the players of today is impressive, but personally I identify more with the game that has more variation, like Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Francesca Schiavone or Carla Suarez Navarro."

Disputed Djokovic shirt auctioned off

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:30:00 GMT

An Australian woman who caught Novak Djokovic's shirt in front of a teenage fan after the Australian Open final auctioned it for charity because of the criticism she underwent.
According to the Herald Sun, Yael Rothschild auctioned off the shirt online and the mother of the girl who had complained it was taken from her, 14-year-old Melissa Cook, bought it for $5,500. Rothschild denied that she has snatched the shirt, and said that money raised from the auction will go to charity. A video dispute was widely shown on social media.

Mirza to focus on doubles this year

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:00 GMT

Sania Mirza has decided to focus on doubles this year as injuries have taken a toll on her body. Former No. 27-ranked Mirza told the Indian press at Fed Cup that having undergone three surgeries in the last four years has not helped her singles. She lost in the first round of the Australian Open, but did reach the mixed final with Mahesh Bhupathi and the doubles semis with Elena Vesnina. "I am excited to have achieved my career-best ranking of seven this week in doubles," she said. "Yet, being in professional tennis for almost a decade has taken a toll on my body. As my body may not be able to cope with playing both singles and doubles, I have decided to focus on doubles in the Olympic year." Mirza added that she would continue to play singles as her body allows it.

Completion of new Roland Garros delayed to 2017

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:56:00 GMT

PARIS (AP)—The French Tennis Federation says the renovation of the Roland Garros complex will be delayed by a year and completed in 2017.

The federation has pushed back expansion into an area that now hosts a gymnasium for schoolchildren and is due for demolition. Originally, there would have been a gap between the demolition work and the building of a new gym by Paris authorities.

Federation general manager Gilbert Ysern tells the French newspaper Le Figaro on Friday that “some parents were worried that their kids would have no place to do sport for a year.” He says the federation therefore decided to delay the work at the complex, the home of the French Open.

Sharapova leads Russia against Spain in Fed Cup

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:30:00 GMT

MOSCOW (AP)—Three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova will play Silvia Soler-Espinosa in the opening singles match Saturday when Russia hosts Spain in the first round of the Fed Cup.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova will face Carla Suarez Navarro in the second match.

“I’m satisfied with the draw,” Sharapova said. “I wanted to play in the first match and I’m happy I will.”

It will be Sharapova’s third appearance for Russia. The Australian Open runner-up won both her singles matches against Israel in 2008 but lost in opening singles against France last year.

Russia is the clear favorite to win but Sharapova refused to underestimate the opponent.

“Last season, we were favorites against France at the same stage of the competition but fell 2-0 down after the opening singles,” Sharapova said. “We were lucky to win in the end.”

In Sunday’s reverse singles, Sharapova will play Suarez Navarro, while Kuznetsova will take on Soler-Espinosa. In the doubles match, the Russian pair of Nadia Petrova and Ekaterina Makarova will play Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra Santonja.

The reverse singles and doubles pairings in the best-of-five series on the indoor hard court at the Olympic indoor stadium can be changed depending on the results of earlier matches.

Russia has won the Fed Cup title four times since 2004 and is 5-1 against Spain, which won the title five times between 1991 and 1998.

The winner will play Belgium or Serbia in the semifinals April 21-22.

Errani earns singles spot for Italy versus Ukraine

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:00:00 GMT

BIELLA, Italy (AP)—Fresh off a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open, Sara Errani earned one of Italy’s singles spots Friday for this weekend’s Fed Cup tie with Ukraine.

The 34th-ranked Errani will open against Kateryna Bondarenko on Saturday, with 2010 French Open winner Francesca Schiavone then facing Lesia Tsurenko on an indoor red clay court at Lauretana Forum.

Flavia Pennetta, Italy’s usual No. 2 player, is struggling with a back problem.

After the reverse singles on Sunday, Errani will team with Roberta Vinci against Yuliya Beygelzimer and Olga Savchuk in doubles.

Errani was beaten by Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the Australian Open quarterfinals. She also reached the doubles final in Melbourne, pairing with Vinci in a loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva of Russia.

Italy won the Fed Cup in 2006, 2009 and 2010.

However, in its last outing, an under-strength Italy—without Schiavone and Pennetta—had its eight-tie winning streak broken in a 5-0 loss to Russia in last year’s semifinals.

The 89th-ranked Bondarenko is Ukraine’s top player.

Italy has won all three of its ties with Ukraine.

ITF extends use of Hawk-Eye in Davis, Fed Cup

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:00:00 GMT

LONDON (AP)—The International Tennis Federation says it is expanding the use of Hawk-Eye replay technology to all rounds of the Davis Cup and Fed Cup World Groups.

Last year, the ITF used the system from the Davis Cup quarterfinals and Fed Cup semifinals. But the federation has now added Hawk-Eye to the first rounds in both competitions as well as the Fed Cup playoffs.

Hawk-Eye was first used in the Davis Cup for the 2006 final, and was extended to the Fed Cup for the 2007 final.

The replay technology is used only for matches on hard and grass courts.

Azarenka likes being hunted No. 1

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:28:00 GMT

Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka seems to be relishing her new role as the world's top player. The Australian Open champion will lead Belarus against the United States in a Fed Cup playoff this coming weekend in Worcester, Mass.

"It's definitely going to be more challenging," she told reporters. "A lot of people are going to have more motivation. But I feel like being No. 1. I want to work as I'm No. 2."

Belarussian captain Tatiana Poutchek said that the reception to Azarenka's Grand Slam victory at home was overwhelming. "It was huge," she said. "I would say it's like, I don't know, 80 percent or 90 percent of population was watching. It was spectacular."

Azarenka indicted that after Fed Cup, she might take some time off to visit with her family. She could opt out of the tournaments in Doha and Dubai. "Maybe before Indian Wells. But don't write it," she said.

Roddick remains optimistic for San Jose return

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:15:00 GMT

Andy Roddick remains on track to return at the SAP Open in San Jose, even though he says he hasn’t hit a tennis ball since hurting his right hamstring in the second round of the Australian Open.

Roddick said on a conference call Thursday that an MRI exam showed a partial tear in the tendon after he hurt his leg in a match against Lleyton Hewitt on Jan 19.

Roddick, who turns 30 in August, was hurt in the second set against Hewitt and took a medical timeout. He then played 16 more games before retiring.

“It’s a concern,” Roddick said. “I haven’t hit a ball since Australia. We’ve just been working on different types of treatment trying to get it right. The MRI came back probably not as good as we were hoping. I’m hoping to be hitting balls for the first time next Monday, and that should get me. I fall goes well there, that should be plenty of time to be ready.”

Roddick’s first match in San Jose is scheduled for Feb. 15, and he is scheduled to play in Memphis the following week at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. A good run in San Jose would give him a chance to win his 600th career match in Memphis where he won his 30th career title in 2011.

“My only urgent thing right now is getting this hamstring right so I can try to play well at San Jose,” Roddick said.

Roddick was asked if he watched the Australian Final where Novak Djokovic outlasted Rafael Nadal in the longest Grand Slam final, which went 5 hours and 53 minutes.

The American said he finds it hard to set his alarm for one in the morning when not playing in a tournament. But he was impressed by what he did see of that final.

“It almost looks like the kind of tennis you see when you play Xbox where the guys really don’t get tired and they hit whatever shot they want. It’s pretty remarkable. I know probably at no time in my career, and I’ve been in pretty good shape throughout it, I don’t know if I could play back to back six hour matches of that intensity,” Roddick said.

“What they’re doing is physically impressive.”

Wozniacki, Sanchez debate reason for split

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:30:00 GMT

Caroline Wozniacki tells the Danish television station TV 2 that the reason for her quick split with coach Ricardo Sanchez was because he was not making a difference in her game.

"I feel so experienced in my game that I know what I need to practice and from there we felt all along that it was the right way," she said. "I also felt that he could not make a big difference for me personally as a player. Therefore we decided to terminate the relationship. If I had won [the Australian Open] or not, it would not made any difference. It was more a personal decision."

Sanchez, who only coached Wozniacki for two months, told La Marca that he gave up numerous other coaching opportunities to be with her, but did not like being subjected to a secondary role by her father Piotr.

"I think Caroline can win a Grand Slam and return to No. 1 with her father, with me or even a flower seller," he said. "She has an exquisite quality and a promising future. But she should improve. She must be more aggressive against the trident [Big 3] of players (Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova) who have proven to be stronger. I tried to do it, but they did not let me. Wozniacki should be a race horse and not a burden."

Tomic out of San Jose for personal reasons

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:27:00 GMT

Australian teenager Bernard Tomic pulls out of the SAP Open (Feb. 13-19) in San Jose, California for personal reasons. The 19-year-old has a court date on February 14 in Queensland to fight traffic violations related to use of his sports car. The tournament had cited a leg injury for the pullout, but ATP Player Relations was told that he used one of his two personal exemptions for ATP 250 tournaments, and he will not be fined for the withdrawal. Tomic is scheduled to play Davis Cup the weekend prior to San Jose. James Blake, who is battling a knee injury, also pulled out. Sam Querrey and Mikhail Kukushkin will replace them in the main draw.—MC

Nadal: Tax bill paid up, despite reports

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:00:00 GMT

MADRID (AP)—Rafael Nadal says his fiscal requirements are up to date after a Spanish website reported the Australian Open finalist had set up several companies to trim his tax bill.

Spanish website Primeran says Nadal created companies in the Basque region to take advantage of a local tax rule to drop the amount of income tax he would have to pay from image rights. Spanish media reported on Thursday that Basque tax authorities were investigating.

Nadal issued a statement acknowledging the existence of the companies, which had been transferred to his home residence of the Balearic Islands. Nadal says he gained “no benefit,” while the companies mentioned “are up to date with the payment of all tax obligations.”

Qualifier Delbonis upsets Bellucci in Vina del Mar

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:56:00 GMT

VINA DEL MAR, Chile (AP)—Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis reached his second career ATP quarterfinals when he upset third-seeded Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 6-2, 7-5 in the VTR Open on Thursday.

Bellucci, the Vina del Mar champion two years ago, lost his serve four times to Delbonis.

Seventh-seeded Carlos Berlocq overwhelmed Argentine countryman Diego Junqueira 6-1, 6-0 in the second round. Berlocq moved ahead 4-3 in their matchups, but this was their first on the ATP Tour.

Also in action on Thursday were No. 2 Juan Ignacio Chela against Horacio Zeballos, and Fernando Gonzalez meeting Joao Souza of Brazil.

Lacko, Youzhny, Baghdatis win at Zagreb Indoors

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:42:00 GMT

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP)—Lukas Lacko of Slovakia ousted second-seeded Alex Bogomolov Jr. of Russia 6-0, 6-7 (1), 6-1 to advance to the Zagreb Indoors quarterfinals on Thursday.

Bogomolov, a quarterfinalist last year, rallied after dropping the first set but lost five games in only 14 minutes in the decider.

Third-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia defeated Grega Zemlja of Slovenia 6-1, 6-3 to reach his third quarterfinal in Zagreb.

Defending champion Ivan Dodig beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, and said, “It seems that I cannot win an easy match in Zagreb.

“This one was tough and the one tomorrow will most likely be even tougher.”

The fourth-seeded Dodig will face No. 6 Marcos Baghdatis, the 2007 champion, who downed Lukasz Kubot of Poland 6-4, 6-2.

“I kept the momentum,” Baghdatis said.

Another Croat, eighth-seeded Ivo Karlovic won his second-rounder by hitting a dozen aces past Dudi Sela in beating the Israeli 6-3, 6-2.

Karlovic will play Youzhny on Friday.

Berdych, Monfils advance to Montpellier quarters

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:59:00 GMT

MONTPELLIER, France (AP)—Defending champion Gael Monfils finished off Michael Russell of the U.S. with his 17th ace Thursday, winning 6-3, 6-3 to reach the Open Sud de France quarterfinals.

Also advancing to the quarters were top-seeded Tomas Berdych, Jarkko Nieminen and Nicolas Mahut.

Nieminen is enjoying a good run, having won the Sydney International last month. Mathieu returned to the ATP Tour this week after missing the 2011 season because of a knee injury. Berdych lost a grueling quarterfinal to Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open.

Russell double-faulted to drop serve at 3-3 and lost the opening set on a forehand error. The third-seeded Monfils capitalized on a backhand error from Russell to break for a 3-1 lead in the second set. Monfils next plays eighth-seeded Nieminen, who dismissed French wild card Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Berdych cruised past French qualifier Florent Serra 6-0, 6-2 in another second-round match. Berdych broke Serra five times to set up a match against Mahut, who beat sixth-seeded Florian Mayer 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Mahut jumped to 4-1 in the tiebreaker and took the first set when Mayer double-faulted. He broke the German twice in the final set to clinch victory.

Venus Williams is excited to return to tennis

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:10:00 GMT

WORCESTER, Massachusetts (AP)—Recovery never comes fast enough for Venus Williams, who plans to return this weekend in the Fed Cup against Belarus after a five-month layoff caused by an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue and joint pain.

Williams has been fighting Sjogren’s Syndrome and hasn’t played a sanctioned match since the U.S. Open in August. She withdrew after the first round and was not ready to return last month for the Australian Open.

Williams practiced with the U.S. team Wednesday morning and said she’s thrilled to be so close to competing again.

“I think just being on a team and just having some adrenaline just gives me even more energy, to be honest,” she said at a news conference. “I need to be on a team every week and not at home.”

Williams has had to learn the difference between recovering from an injury and an illness. That has meant pacing herself more in practice and minding doctors’ orders not to push it while she tries to regain her form. A former No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam singles winner, Williams isn’t used to taking it easy.

“The difference is acceptance—trying to accept how you feel and limitations. Listening to your body and taking care of yourself,” she said. “Instead of trying to run through a wall, just really kind of take a step back and be smart. I think that’s kind of what I’ve learned.

“There are some things you can’t keep going through,” she added. “I still have to be reminded to slow down, but hopefully there will be a day when I don’t have to be reminded of that.”

Williams played younger sister, Serena, in an exhibition in Colombia in November.

The recovery has been frustratingly slow at times, but she feels ready for this weekend when the U.S. begins its quest to return to the top tier in the Fed Cup. The Americans were bounced to Group II in a 5-0 loss to Germany last year, when Venus was with the team but couldn’t play because of a hip injury.

“I was just kind of standing on the sidelines, which was tough because I wasn’t able to help the team at all,” she said. “This year, it’s great to be in a position to help the team.”

It’s also great for U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez, who said the lineup for the matches Saturday and Sunday will depend on how well Venus plays in practice over the next few days.

Wednesday’s results looked promising, Fernandez said.

“Just to have her around is such a big motivator for the rest of the team. There’s a lot of excitement. I think Venus was thrilled and she was itching to get out there and hit that first ball,” Fernandez said. “I think that goes such a long way. The ripple effect of everybody seeing it—just seeing the desire, the determination, the intensity—it rubs off. It was great to see Venus out there this morning hitting well and working hard.”

Belarus features new world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who just won the Australian Open title on Saturday.

Fernandez said she has to submit her lineup on Friday, when the weekend draw will be determined. There are two singles matches Saturday and another two rounds of singles Sunday before the competition wraps up with doubles. The U.S. team also includes Liezel Huber, the world’s No. 1 doubles player, Christina McHale and Sloane Stephens.

Serena Williams has been recovering from a left ankle injury, but could still be the American opponent to face Azarenka, who routed Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 in the Australian Open final.

“The good news is we can always change it up the second day, so I have good options,” Fernandez said.

No matter how she plays this weekend, just getting on the court for a real match will be somewhat of a triumph for Venus Williams, who will be 32 in June.

Injuries have limited her to playing in only 11 matches since she reached the semifinals at the 2010 U.S. Open. The last few months of recovery have been more trying than what she has endured in the past because it has been so different.

“It’s definitely difficult not being on the court, especially when there’s not much to be done about it when it’s completely out of my control,” she said. “I think that’s probably the hardest part.”

Berrer upsets top-seeded Ljubicic in Zagreb

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:15:00 GMT

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP)—Michael Berrer of Germany upset top-seeded Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of Zagreb Indoors.

Berrer, last year’s finalist, had little trouble as shown by him breaking back immediately in the second set after dropping serve for the only time in the match.

“I played badly,” Ljubicic said. “It hurts much more losing at home, but the good thing with tennis is that you don’t have to wait long for another chance.”

Defending champion Ivan Dodig defeated Marsel Ilhan of Turkey by 7-6 (5), 7-5, and later said he wasn’t concerned by the back injury which forced his retirement in the first round of the Australian Open.

“It was more important not to feel the injury during play,” Dodig said.

Earlier, Jurgen Melzer of Austria upset fifth-seeded Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-3 for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Melzer was a late entry and had to play in qualifiers, but has lost just nine games in his first two matches. Melzer—a 2010 semifinalist—served nine aces against Seppi and converted four of his seven break points.

“I am very happy with the way I played so far,” he said. “I needed some matches after an early exit in Melbourne, where I lost in the first round. … And after many injury problems I had last year now I finally play pain free.”

Seventh-seeded Robin Haase from the Netherlands also advanced after rallying to beat Matthias Bachinger from Germany 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3.

In the remaining first-round matches, Slovenian wild card Grega Zemlja beat Croat Antonio Veic 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6), Dudi Sela of Israel defeated Andreas Beck of Germany 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain ousted Daviel Evans of Britain 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

Gil ousts Andujar in Vina del Mar second round

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:00 GMT

VINA DEL MAR, Chile (AP)—Frederico Gil of Portugal beat fourth-seeded Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-2, 6-1 in the second round of the Vina del Mar VTR Open on Wednesday.

Fifth-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain had better luck in the clay-court tournament, defeating Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil 7-5, 6-2. Jeremy Chardy of France defeated Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 7-5, 6-2.

Top-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina was scheduled to play late Wednesday against Igor Andreev of Russia.

Gasquet, Simon reach Montpellier quarterfinals

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:00 GMT

MONTPELLIER, France (AP)—Seeded Frenchmen Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet both won in straight sets Wednesday to reach the Open Sud de France quarterfinals.

The second-seeded Simon fired nine aces and saved four break points in his 6-3, 6-2 win against Flavio Cipolla of Italy, while the fourth-seeded Gasquet broke Nikolay Davydenko three times in a 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Even though Davydenko is no longer ranked in the world’s top 50, Gasquet had remained wary of the former top-five player.

“He’s not the No. 3 he was a few years ago but he can still dazzle sometimes, and you can easily find yourself a break down against him,” Gasquet said. “So it was important to hold my serve.”

Davydenko led 40-15 on serve in the 10th game of the second set, but Gasquet took a forehand early to pass Davydenko, who next hit an unforced error and watched as Gasquet dispatched a volley to get to his first match point.

Davydenko saved that with his fifth ace. Gasquet wasted his next chance when a hurried backhand pass hit the net, then double-faulted on his third match point and watched as Davydenko saved another with a clipped forehand pass.

Gasquet, who reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, sealed victory on his fifth match point after a long baseline rally ended with the Russian slicing a forehand well wide.

“I’m glad he missed that as it was becoming harder to get my first serve in,” said Gasquet, who has slipped from a ranking of seventh in 2007 to 16th. “I’ve recovered from Australia now and am starting to sleep properly, so everything’s fine.”

Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, seeded No. 7, dropped serve twice but served 10 aces to beat Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 6-4, 7-5.

Guillaume Rufin of France also advanced after a 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over fifth-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain.

Rufin hit 16 aces compared to 13 for Lopez, who lost his serve twice in the second set after the big servers swapped a break each in the first.