The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Lee, Verdasco exit

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Tuesday, Jun 12, 2007
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Lee, Verdasco exit

Federer to skip Halle tournament

LONDON: Britain's grass season claimed its first ATP tour victims on Monday when 13th-seeded Korean Lee Hyung-Taik and 16th-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco fell at Queen's.

Lee went down 6-4, 6-4 to British No. 3 Alex Bogdanovic to the delight of local fans on an overcast Centre Court.

Verdasco, ranked 38th in the world, was out-hit by big Belarussian Max Mirnyi 6-3, 6-3.

He could not cope with the 1.96-metre Mirnyi's huge serve and looked baffled when the Belarussian's shots skidded through low on the pristine green surface at the west London club.

Meanwhile, World No. 1 Roger Federer has announced that he will not be defending his title in the Halle ATP tournament, which started here on Monday.

The four-time defending champion had been expected to travel to Germany following his loss at the French Open final in Paris on Sunday.

But a groin injury and general fatigue from the fortnight-long Roland Garros tournament have taken their toll and Federer has returned to his Swiss home to recover before Wimbledon which starts on June 25.

The results:

At London: ATP Stella Artois championship (first round): Robby Ginepri bt Richard Bloomfield 6-4, 6-2; Max Mirnyi bt Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3; Jamie Baker bt Alexander Peya 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3; Radek Stepanek bt Davide Sanguinetti 6-2, 2-0 (retd.); Arnaud Clement bt Ivan Navarro Pastor 7-6(2), 6-4; Alex Bogdanovic bt Lee Hyung-Taik 6-4, 6-4; Danai Udomchoke bt Oscar Hernandez 6-2, 6-3; Alejandro Falla bt Julien Benneteau 7-5, 6-3; Paul-Henri Mathieu bt Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3; Juan Martin del Potro bt Thomas Johansson 6-2, 6-4; Chris Guccione bt Andreas Seppi 7-6(4), 6-4; Nicolas Mahut bt Igor Kunitsyn 6-4, 6-4.

At Halle: ATP tournament (first round): Marcos Baghdatis bt Simon Gilles 6-3, 6-3; Robin Soderling bt Stefan Koubek 5-7, 6-3, 7-5; Benjamin Becker bt Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-4, 7-6(1); Tomas Berdych bt Nicolas Kiefer 6-4, 7-6(3).

At Birmingham: WTA DFS Classic (first round): Agnieszka Radwanska bt Anne Kremer 6-1, 6-3; Elena Likhovtseva bt Bethanie Mattek 6-3, 6-0; Julia Vakulenko bt Sun Tiantian 6-2, 6-1; Eleni Daniilidou bt Laura Granville 6-3, 7-6(5); Meilen Tu bt Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-2; Lilia Osterloh bt Varvara Lepchenko 7-6(7), 6-3; Ahsha Rolle bt Abigail Spears 6-4, 6-3; Casey Dell'Acqua bt Yan Zi 6-2, 6-2. — Agencies

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