TENNIS: MEN: Spain's Rafa Nadal and Britain's Andy Murray passed their second-round tests with straight sets wins at the Cincinnati Open yesterday. Both Nadal, the world number two, and Murray, ranked fourth, suffered early exits in Montreal last week but there was little hint of a hangover in their latest matches.
Murray overcame a sluggish start to record a 6-4 6-1 win over Argentine David Nalbandian, setting up a third-round match against either France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or US qualifier Alex Bogomolov.
Nadal also put last week’s setback aside as he beat French qualifier Julien Benneteau 6-4 7-5 in just over 90 minutes. The Spaniard won all three break points he gained in a comfortable display and will now face compatriot Fernando Verdasco, who beat France’s Michael Llodra 6-4 6-4.
Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, continued his run here, following up his first round win over Andy Roddick with a 6-1 6-4 win over Spain’s 25th-ranked Feliciano Lopez.
World number three Roger Federer cast aside bad memories to defeat Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3 7-5. Del Potro had upset Federer in the 2009 US Open final before injuries set back his career but the Swiss looked at his comfortable best in the first set.
It was a much closer encounter in the second set which was played to serve until the Swiss broke to go 6-5 up. Federer had missed out on six break points prior to winning that game. He then held serve to go through to face American James Blake.
WOMEN: World number one Caroline Wozniacki suffered a shock second-round loss to 19-year-old American Christina McHale at the Cincinnati Open yesterday. With friend Rory McIlroy in attendance, the Danish top seed never looked close to her best and lacked winning shots as she fell 6-4 7-5 to the 76th-ranked McHale.
The defeat was the first time Wozniacki lost to an opponent outside the top 75 since 2009 and extends a worrying spell of form for the Dane.
Wozniacki, who suffered early round exits in her last two tournaments, handed victory to McHale with an awfully-timed stroke which looped way over the baseline.
The 21-year-old heads to the US Open later this month in search of her first grand slam title.
US OPEN COUNTDOWN:Serena Williams pulled out of the Cincinnati Open yesterday with a right toe injury that gives the former world number one a chance to rest ahead of the US Open. Williams, who returned to competition in June after missing 11 months with injuries and health problems, said her latest setback is related to a prior toe issue but is not as serious.
“It is not nearly as extreme. It’s just a bit of an aggravation because I think I’ve been pounding it a lot and playing a lot,” said Williams, who admitted to feeling some discomfort during her win here on Tuesday. “But I don’t think this is a good time for me to take a big chance. I just don’t think that would be smart.”
The 13-times grand slam champion, who triumphed in her last two tournaments, was due to face Australian 10th seed Samantha Stosur in the second round, in a rematch of the Toronto Cup final she won Sunday.
After her straight sets victory over Czech Lucie Hradecka Tuesday, Williams said she was wary of becoming tired before the US Open later this month.
The American said the decision to withdraw could benefit her with more time to rest before the year’s final grand slam in New York. “I’m definitely disappointed, but at the same time, I have a lot to look forward to,” she said. “If anything, this might be a blessing in disguise.”
Despite the injury, Williams said she may now attend her celebrity friend Kim Kardashian’s wedding this weekend to New Jersey Nets basketball player Kris Humphries.
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