Aus Open final my worst experience: Nadal
Madrid: Spanish world No. 1 Rafael Nadal said the Australian Open final, which he lost to Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka, was “the worst hour and a half” he ever spent on a tennis court. The 27-year-old Nadal, a 13-time Grand Slam champion, said in an interview with the COPE radio network that he planned to return to Davis Cup action to try to help keep Spain in the World Group of tennis’ premier international team competition. “I knew I had no chance of winning (the Australian Open final), but I had no intention of retiring. It was the worst hour and a half that I have spent on a tennis court,” Nadal told the Spanish radio network on Monday night. Wawrinka won his first major title by beating Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the Australian Open final on January 26. Nadal was seeking to become the first man in the Open Era – which began in the late 1960s – to win each of tennis’ four biggest titles at least twice. The Spanish star, who sustained a back injury in the final of the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, said it had been a bit harder to recover from the loss in Melbourne than from other defeats. Nadal said he planned to play in the Davis Cup if he remained healthy, joining Spain’s team on court in September as it tries to stay in the World Group. (IANS)
Wawrinka to skip Rotterdam
Rotterdam: Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka has withdrawn from next week’s World Tennis Tournament here. The reigning Australian Open champion is recovering from a leg injury and will be replaced by Russian World No. 43 Denis Istomin. Last Friday, Wawrinka was active for Switzerland in the Davis Cup tie against Serbia but wants to rest now. “Unfortunately I am not able to play in the next tournaments in Montpellier and Rotterdam. Hopefully I will be back on the courts very soon. I was looking forward to playing in Rotterdam but I am not fit enough to get a good result,” Wawrinka said on Tuesday. Tournament director Richard Krajicek was able to lure World No. 3 Wawrinka to Rotterdam before his triumph in Melbourne. Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina, No. 4), Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic, No. 7), Richard Gasquet (France, No. 9), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France, No. 10), Milos Raonic (Canada, No. 11) and Tommy Haas (Germany, No. 12) are now the highest ranked players who will be present in Rotterdam next week. (IANS)
Somdev, Yuki closer to semis clash
Chennai: India’s top two singles players, Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri, headed towards a possible semifinal clash in the ATP Challenger event here on Wednesday after beating their respective rivals. Top seed Somdev came back from a set down against New Zealand’s Michael Venus 6-7 (4), 6-0, 6-3 the pre-quarterfinal contest. Seventh-seeded Yuki, on the other hand, made short work of Gerrard Granollers 6-2, 6-1 in quick time. Somdev now faces Spain’s Jordi Samper-Montana in the quarterfinals, while Yuki will clash with Frenchman Lucas Pouille. In the bottom half of the draw, wild card Saketh Myneni and qualifier Sanam Singh also got closer to a semifinal face off. Myneni served and stroked fluently to put out the eighth seed Italian Thomas Fabbiano 6-3, 6-2. Sanam edged past compatriot and wild card N Sriram Balaji 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (1) in a grueling second-round contest. (PTI)
Sangakkara’s triple ton flattens B’desh
Chittagong: Kumar Sangakkara made a career-best 319 and joined the 11,000-run club on the way as Sri Lanka took control of the second Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong on Wednesday. The tourists, who won the first Test by an innings and 248 runs in Dhaka last week, hit 587 in their first innings and Bangladesh replied with 86/1 by stumps on the second day. Left-handed Sangakkara’s maiden triple century was his ninth 200-plus knock, leaving him in second place behind Australian legend Don Bradman, who had 12 scores of 200 or more. Sangakkara, a 36-year-old veteran playing his 122nd Test, also became the ninth Test batsmen to reach the 11,000-run mark. He now has 11,046 runs in the all-time list headed by India’s Sachin Tendulkar (15,921). Having started the day on 160, Sangakkara hit 32 boundaries and eight sixes before he was last man out before tea attempting to force the pace. (AFP)