Eastbourne: Top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska slumped to a 7-6 (2), 6-2 defeat by American qualifier Jamie Hampton in the first round at Eastbourne on Tuesday. Radwanska, who won the title in 2008, struggled throughout the match at the Wimbledon warm-up tournament.
Although the Polish player leveled at 5-5 when Hampton served for the first set at 5-4 and then held a set point at 6-5, she was overwhelmed in the tiebreaker and failed to make much impact in the second set.
"I think playing her in the first match on the grass I think it was tough, and I think, you know, the fact that she played three matches before helped her a little bit," Radwanska said. "I think I was a little bit scared to move. It wasn't slippery. Maybe a little bit in the back, but, yeah, scared. You have to be careful." Hampton was cautious when Radwanska fought back late in the first set, but was determined not to fold.
"I was a little rattled, yeah," Hampton said. "Last time we played something similar happened, so I was like, I'm not going to crack. I'm going to hold on and get to a tiebreak." Second-seeded Li Na of China advanced to the second round, beating Alize Cornet of France 6-2, 6-4 and will next play 2011 champion Marion Bartoli of France....
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09:03 AM, Jun 19, 2013
Rosmalen: French Open finalist David Ferrer lost his first-round match Tuesday at the Topshelf Open, a grass-court tournament held the week before Wimbledon. A single service break in the second set was enough for Xavier Malisse of Belgium to beat defending champion and top-seeded Ferrer in straight sets, 7-6 (3), 6-3. The 2011 champion Roberta Vinci had no such problems, brushing aside Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-3 in the first match...
06:35 PM, Jun 18, 2013
Eastbourne: Defending champion Tamira Paszek was forced to retire with a left thigh injury from her first-round match against 2009 champion Caroline Wozniacki at Eastbourne on Tuesday. Wozniacki was leading 6-2, 2-2 when Paszek was forced off. The Austrian, who was chasing her first win on the WTA tour since January, was broken at 3-2 and Denmark's Wozniacki then broke again to take the opening set. Paszek broke to lead...
05:22 PM, Jun 18, 2013
Ardmore: Like a vintage bottle of wine brought out of the cellar after gathering dust for 32 years, Merion Golf Club's iconic East Course made a welcome return as host of the US Open - and did so in classic style. The challenging par-70 layout with its brutally difficult finish had long been regarded as too short to stage one of golf's four major championships, many feeling that it had...
08:35 AM, Jun 18, 2013
Ardmore: Tiger Woods was a big favourite coming into the U.S. Open as he tried to end a five-year drought in the majors but walked away with a 13-over 293 total Sunday that he blamed on poor putting and iron play. A triple-bogey eight on the par-five second hole got world number one Woods off on the wrong foot in a final round of four-over-par 74 at Merion Golf Club....
09:26 AM, Jun 17, 2013
Ardmore: Rory McIlroy was miserable at Merion and he took out his frustrations on his club on No. 11 on Sunday. His first tee shot plopped in the water. He took a drop, then sent another ball into the same creek. McIlroy then jammed the club into the ground and completely twisted the head. "I think that's what this tournament does to you," he said. "At one point or another,...
08:51 AM, Jun 17, 2013
Ardmore: Justin Rose could see all the pieces coming together in this US Open. The sun was breaking through the clouds Sunday evening at Merion as he stood in the 18th fairway with a one-shot lead. That famous Ben Hogan plaque was in front of him, a road marker bronze that one pure swing and two putts might be all that stood between Rose and his first major championship. That...
08:42 AM, Jun 17, 2013
Halle: Roger Federer found the perfect place to end his title drought - a small town in western Germany that has a big tennis stadium and a street named Roger-Federer-Allee leading to it. Federer left Halle a winner again Sunday, ending a 10-month run of 11 tournaments without a title, an eternity by his standards. The 31-year-old Swiss great overcame a sluggish start to beat unseeded Mikhail Youzhny 6-7 (5),...
08:18 PM, Jun 16, 2013
Jakarta: Malaysia's top seed Lee Chong Wei won the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier men's singles title for the fifth time, beating German Marc Zwiebler 21-15, 21-14 here Sunday. Unseeded Zwiebler was no match to Lee, who had won the tournament in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011, as the 30-year-old Malaysian wrapped up the final match in just 40 minutes, reports Xinhua. "I hope I'll come back here next year....
02:59 PM, Jun 16, 2013
Jakarta: Bao Yixin and Cheng Shu upset their Chinese compatriots Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang in a tough three-game match to win the women's doubles title at the $700,000 Indonesia Open Super Series Premier here on Sunday. Bao-Cheng won the match 15-21, 21-18, 21-18 and received $55,300 for their victory, reports Xinhua. "We never thought about the results before the competitions. And we just tried to focus on our game...
01:54 PM, Jun 16, 2013
Ardmore: Tiger Woods made birdie at the first hole, only to watch his day go racing downhill from there. By the time it was over, Woods skidded to seven bogeys and a 6-over-par 76 Saturday, tumbling down the leaderboard and matching his worst round as a pro at the US Open. That left him 10 strokes behind third-round leader Phil Mickelson, the only player under par at the short but...
09:19 AM, Jun 16, 2013
Ardmore: For all those runner-up finishes, with so much heartache chasing the major he covets, Phil Mickelson has never had a better chance to win the US Open. It's the first time he has ever had the outright lead going into the final round. Of the nine players within five shots, only one has the experience of winning a major. And Tiger Woods went from contender to middle-of-the-pack by matching...
08:55 AM, Jun 16, 2013
Halle, Germany: Roger Federer rallied past defending champion Tommy Haas 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final of the Gerry Weber Open. Federer, who lost to Hass in last year's final, is on course for his first title of 2013. He's seeking his sixth title on grass in Halle, his favourite warm-up for Wimbledon. Four of Federer's seven Wimbledon titles have come after wins in Halle. While Federer...
07:07 PM, Jun 15, 2013
Beijing: China Open organisers have confirmed the participation of 12-time major champion Rafael Nadal of Spain at this year's tournament, making it his first appearance here in four years. "We are excited to present the best players in the world in Beijing for our fans. Rafael Nadal is a global superstar and his participation is a great way for the fans to celebrate the China Open's 10th anniversary," Alfred Zhang,...
03:42 PM, Jun 15, 2013
Ardmore, Pennsylvania: Amateurs Pan Cheng-tsung of Taiwan and South Korea-born Michael Kim kept the flag flying high for Asia with stunning performances in difficult conditions at the U.S. Open on Friday. Pan birdied two of his first nine holes to lie joint third at level par midway through the weather-delayed second round while Kim was a further stroke back, after covering his first 11 holes in two under. Both players...
12:16 PM, Jun 15, 2013
Ardmore: Phil Mickelson knew it was going to be close, so he made sure his group could finish the second round of the U.S. Open on Friday. The rule when a round is halted because of darkness is that players have the option to complete a hole. Mickelson, Steve Stricker and Keegan Bradley were on the 17th with the sun falling fast when Lefty spoke to Dustin Johnson in the...
09:39 AM, Jun 15, 2013
Pennsylvania: Phil Mickelson drilled a long birdie on his final hole and Billy Horschel made every green in regulation on Friday to be the only two players below par after a long and trying second day of the U.S. Open. Nearly half the field did not finish the second round when it was suspended by darkness. Moments after the horn sounded to stop play, Mickelson opted to finish his round...
09:07 AM, Jun 15, 2013
Pennsylvania: Tiger Woods, battling an injury and changing conditions at Merion, had two bogeys and a birdie on Friday morning to complete a three-over 73, six shots behind US Open leader Phil Mickelson. Woods returned to finish eight holes in the weather-delayed first round. After sinking a short par-putt at the 11th, he bogeyed the 12th, birdied the short par-three 13th and bogeyed 17. The world number one, seeking to...
11:50 PM, Jun 14, 2013
Pennsylvania: Luke Donald bogeyed two of the last three holes in tough scoring conditions to hand Phil Mickelson a one-shot lead when the weather-delayed first round of the US Open was completed on Friday. Englishman Donald had been a stroke in front with five holes remaining when play was suspended in fading light on Thursday but slipped back with three-putt bogeys at the par-four 16th and par-four last to card...
11:33 PM, Jun 14, 2013
Halle: Top-seeded Roger Federer beat German wild card Mischa Zverev 6-0, 6-0 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Gerry Weber Open grass-court tournament. Federer needed only 39 minutes to record the second "double bagel" of his career. Federer also won 6-0, 6-0 over Gaston Gaudio at the Masters Cup in Shanghai in 2005. Federer is looking for his first title of the year. In the semifinals, he will...
06:04 PM, Jun 14, 2013
