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MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP)—Defending champion Andy Roddick was beaten by Xavier Malisse, 7-6 (8), 7-5, in an opening-round match Wednesday at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. For Roddick, whose world ranking has slipped to 27th, it was his earliest exit from the Memphis tournament in 12 appearances. Veteran Malisse, ranked 75th, was winless in four matches this season and in nine career matches against Roddick.Roddick, seeded No. 2, has been slowed by hamstring and ankle problems this season. He was unable to capitalize on two set points in the first and was broken in the last game of the second by the 31-year-old Belgian. Olivier Rochus of Belgium and Philipp Petzschner of Germany also pulled off upsets Wednesday. Rochus beat No. 5 Alex Bogomolov of Russia, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) and Petzschner defeated No. 6 Julien Benneteau of France, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6). No. 4 seed Milos Raonic, champion of last week’s ATP World Tour event in San Jose, plays in a late match Wednesday. In other men’s first-round matches, No. 3 seed Radek Stepanek won 6-3, 6-2 over qualifier Bobby Reynolds, No. 7 seed Kevin Anderson advanced with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over qualifier Robby Ginepri and Jurgen Melzer of Austria beat Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(4). Istomin was coming off a runner-up finish in San Jose. In the Memphis International, the accompanying Women’s Tennis Association event, Alberta Brianti of Italy eliminated No. 2 seed Ksenia Pervak, 7-6 (3), 6-2, while Sofia Arvidsson, the 2006 champion, joined Brianti in the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (5), 0-6, 6-3 upset of No. 5 seed Pauline Parmentier. Unseeded Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine also reached the quarterfinals by ousting a seed. She beat No. 3 Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3). Only one of the eight women’s seeds—No. 4-ranked New Zealander Marina Erakovic—remains moving into Thursday’s quarterfinals. [more]
Caroline Wozniacki could have been forgiven, at times, for thinking she was looking into a mirror on the other side of the net. Her opponent, 20-year-old Simona Halep of Romania, is a 5-foot-6 baseliner with a two-handed backhanded and a steady baseline game that at times resembles Wozniacki’s.But the comparison only goes so far, and if Wozniacki’s 6-2, 6-3 win over the No. 53 Halep showed us anything, it’s how tough an opponent she remains to break down. The two traded holds until Halep served at 2-3. At that point, Halep’s concentration wavered for a split second, a couple of loose errors followed, and the set was essentially over. Wozniacki may be struggling against higher-ranked players and bigger hitters, but she never needed to leave her comfort zone today. She kept the winners and errors low, kept her returns, especially on the backhand side, forceful and deep, approached the net when she could, and ran out to a 6-2, 3-0 lead.Wozniacki’s recent losses must have taken some mental toll, though, because she grew shaky trying to close out what had appeared to be a routine win. She was broken for 2-3 and for 3-4 before finally wrapping it up. Her forehand, always her weaker wing, betrayed her on a couple of occasions. Some of this can be chalked up to Halep’s ball-striking ability. For an undersized player, she packs a punch, and she can flatten out a forehand in a way that Wozniacki normally can’t. The Romanian has been stradily climbing the rankings for the last three years, and it doesn’t appear that climb is over.Still, she was only going to climb so far today. The most telling moment came when Halep was serving at 3-4, 30-40, break point in the second set. Over the previous four games, she had built a little momentum and taken control of some of the rallies , but she needed this point. The two engaged in a long rally; when it became clear that Wozniacki wasn’t going to blink, Halep tried a desperation bailout drop shot. It floated hopelessly into the bottom of the net. Wozniacki is no longer No. 1, but she can still drive an opponent to despair. We'll see if she can do it to another former top woman player, Ana Ivanovic, in the next round.—Steve Tignor [more]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)—U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur advanced to the third round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday by defeating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-1. Caroline Wozniacki also advanced Wednesday after the third-seeded Danish player opened her title defense by beating Romania’s Simona Halep 6-2, 6-3. Earlier Wednesday, top-ranked Victoria Azarenka pulled out of the Dubai tournament because of a left ankle injury. The Australian Open champion, who has won 17 straight matches so far this season, says she will rest for two or three days.“Obviously it’s very disappointing, but, I mean, it’s life. It’s sport. I just have to take care of it and that’s it,” Azarenka said. “I take a couple of days off just to see and hopefully it will settle down. … But it has to be taken care of right away.” Azarenka injured her left ankle during last week’s semifinal match at the Qatar Open. However, Azarenka shook off the injury to beat Stosur in the final. In Dubai, the fourth-seeded Stosur of Australia broke Safarova twice in both the first and third sets, and saved all nine break points she faced in the match. She will meet eight-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the third round on Thursday. Jankovic defeated Italy’s Flavia Pennetta 7-5, 6-4. Stosur and Jankovic last played in the quarterfinals in the 2011 Dubai tournament, with the Serb winning. “Good chance for me to try and bounce back from that loss that I had against her,” Stosur said, adding that Thursday’s match will be one of those “where I think I’ve got to really step up and play aggressive and realize she’s (Jankovic) not going to make too many errors.” Wozniacki will face Ana Ivanovic after the Serbian player defeated Maria Kirilenko of Russia, 6-2, 7-6 (4). The ninth-seeded Sabine Lisicki of Germany also advanced after defeating Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3. Lisicki will play Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round, after the fifth-seeded Polish player defeated Israel’s Shahar Peer 7-5, 6-4. Azarenka said the packed tennis schedule and increasingly tough competition could be partly to blame for so many injuries among the players. Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, French Open winner Li Na and Vera Zvonareva have also pulled out the Dubai tournament because of injury and illness. “For me, obviously I played so much, and it was an unfortunate situation what happened in Doha,” Azarenka said. “But I mean, it’s just the game became so physical. Sometimes it’s really tough on the body week after week to play. For example, these tournaments back-to-back with such a tough field, it takes a lot out of you physically. It’s just tough.” Wozniacki, who was ranked No. 1 until Azarenka unseated her last month by winning the Australian Open, said she hoped her Belarusian rival will recover from her injury after a good rest. “Vika (Azarenka) has had a great start to the year. I’m sure her body is feeling very tired at the moment, and she needed the rest before Indian Wells,” Wozniacki said. “You know, injuries happen in tennis. Just need to be happy when you’re healthy.” [more]
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