The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Sania pulls out midway

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Sania pulls out midway

DOHA: Sania Mirza retired midway through the third set during her first round encounter against Belarus’ Olga Govortsova in the Qatar Open here on Tuesday.

Nalbandian advances

Top-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina fired 10 aces in beating Peter Luczak of Australia 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of the Copa Telmex in Buenos Aires on Monday.

Nalbandian is trying to win Argentina’s only ATP stop in his fifth attempt. The previous best results by Argentina’s leading players were quarterfinals in 2002 and 2003.

In his first match on clay this year, he hit 19 winners, double those of Luczak, in the first set, and was bothered by gusts in the second until he broke the Australian for 5-3.

“It wasn’t easy playing out here because of wind picking up on the court,” said Nalbandian, who was otherwise happy. “First rounds can always be difficult.”

The results (all first round):

In Rotterdam (ABN Amro Open): Teimuraz Gabashvili bt Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-1; Ivo Karlovic bt Olivier Rochus 6-1, 6-2; Michael Berrer bt Matthias Bachinger 6-3, 6-2; Janko Tipsarevic bt Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(3), 6-4; Michael Zverev bt Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 7-5.

In Buenos Aires (Copa Telmex): David Nalbandian bt Peter Luczak 6-3, 6-3; Potito Starace bt Boris Pashanski 6-1, 3-6, 6-4; Jiri Vanek bt Carlos Berlocq 6-4, 7-5; Luis Horna bt Maximo Gonzalez 6-4, 6-4.

In San Jose, USA, (SAP Open): Radek Stepanek bt Paul Capdeville 7-6(2), 6-1; Guillermo Garcia-Lopez bt Jurgen Melzer 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(6); Kristof Vliegen bt Victor Hanescu 6-4, 7-6(4); Bobby Reynolds bt Benedikt Dorsch 7-5, 6-4; Jesse Levine bt Steve Darcis 6-3, 2-6, 6-4; Wayne Odesnik bt Donald Young 6-1, 5-7, 6-4; John Isner bt Florent Serra 7-6(5), 6-4.

In Doha (Qatar Open): Second round: Caroline Wozniacki bt Marion Bartoli 6-2, 6-3; First round: Olga Govortsova bt Sania Mirza 4-6, 7-6(5), 3-2, retd.; Dinara Safina bt Katerina Srebotnik 6-2, 6-4; Anabel Medina Garrigues bt Nadia Petrova 6-2, 1-2 retired; Shahar Peer bt Andreja Klepac 6-3, 6-4; Amélie Mauresmo bt Sabine Lisicki 7-6(2), 6-3.

In Bogota (Copa Colsanitas Santander): María Emilia Salerni bt Alizé Cornet 6-4, 6-2; Sara Errani bt Ekaterina Bychkova 6-1, 6-1; Mariana Duque Marino bt Jelena Kostanic Tosic 6-4, 3-1 retired. — Agencies

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