tennis – Page 57

Kerber reaches Sydney semis, Giorgi ousts Radwanska

SYDNEY (AP) Former world No.1 Angelique Kerber continued her strong start to the season by advancing to the Sydney International semifinals with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Dominika Cibulkova on Thursday.

Federer, Djokovic drawn in same half for Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Defending champion Roger Federer has been drawn in the same half of the Australian Open as six-time winner Novak Djokovic, who is returning from an elbow injury and is seeded 14th.

Nadal, Federer seeded 1st and 2nd for Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Top-ranked Rafael Nadal and defending champion Roger Federer have been seeded first and second for the Australian Open, meaning they can only play each other at Melbourne Park this month if they set up a rematch of last year’s final.

Muguruza out of Sydney International with thigh injury (Jan 10, 2018)

SYDNEY (AP) Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza has withdrawn with an injury from her second consecutive tournament to start the new year.

Kerber beats Venus Williams at Sydney International

SYDNEY (AP) Former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber won her sixth consecutive match of the new season, beating second-seeded Venus Williams 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 on Tuesday in a Sydney International match delayed for two hours by a thunderstorm.

Rusty Nadal struggles in loss to Gasquet in exhibition match

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Rafael Nadal struggled with his timing and normally potent shot-making as he started his delayed preparations for the Australian Open with an error-filled 6-4, 7-5 loss to Richard Gasquet in the Kooyong Classic exhibition event Tuesday.

Murray undergoes hip surgery, hopes to be back for Wimbledon

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Andy Murray underwent surgery on his right hip on Monday and said he hopes to be back playing in time for Wimbledon.

Eugenie Bouchard beaten in 1st round at Hobart International (Jan 8, 2018)

HOBART, Australia (AP) Eugenie Bouchard’s poor run of form continued Monday when she was beaten by Belarusian teenager Aryna Sabalenka at the Hobart International.

German nationalist lawmaker gets warning over racist tweet

BERLIN (AP) A nationalist party has given one of its lawmakers a warning over a racist tweet on his account directed against former tennis star Boris Becker’s son.

US Open champion Stephens beaten in first match of 2018

SYDNEY (AP) U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens has lost her first match of the year, beaten by Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi at the Sydney International on Monday.

Former champion Azarenka withdraws from the Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka has withdrawn from the Australian Open, with her wildcard entry to the season’s first major reallocated to Ajla Tomljanovic.

Kyrgios beats Harrison to win Brisbane International title

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) Nick Kyrgios won an ATP title on home soil for the first time with a commanding 6-4, 6-2 victory over Ryan Harrison at the Brisbane International on Sunday night.

Ostapenko upset by Makarova in 1st round at Sydney

SYDNEY (AP) French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko had an upset 7-6 (3), 6-1 loss to Ekaterina Makarova on a sweltering opening day of the Sydney International.

Simon beats Anderson to win Maharashtra Open

PUNE, India (AP) Gilles Simon won his first major ATP Tour title since 2015 when the Frenchman defeated second-seeded Kevin Anderson 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the final of the Maharashtra Open on Saturday.

Halep defeats Siniakova in 3 sets to win Shenzhen Open title

SHENZHEN, China (AP) Top-ranked Simona Halep beat defending champion Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 2-6, 6-0 in the final of the Shenzhen Open on Saturday.

Federer and Bencic lead Switzerland to Hopman Cup title

PERTH, Australia (AP) Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic won the deciding Fast4 mixed doubles 4-3 (3), 4-2 Saturday over Germany to give Switzerland its third Hopman Cup title.

German lawmaker apologizes after racist slur on Twitter

BERLIN (AP) A lawmaker for the nationalist Alternative for Germany party is apologizing to the son of former tennis star Boris Becker following a racist outburst on Twitter.

Thiem withdraws from Doha Open semifinal due to fever

DOHA, Qatar (AP) Top-seeded Dominic Thiem withdrew from his Qatar Open semifinal against Gael Monfils on Friday due to a cold and fever.

Siniakova beats Sharapova to reach Shenzhen Open final

SHENZHEN, China (AP) Defending champion Katerina Siniakova defeated Maria Sharapova 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 on Friday in her first meeting with the five-time major winner to reach the final of the Shenzhen Open.

Defending champion Serena Williams out of Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Defending champion Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Australian Open, saying she is not ready to return to tournament tennis.

Boris Becker's son presses charges after racist slur

BERLIN (AP) The son of former tennis star Boris Becker is pressing charges against a German nationalist lawmaker who insulted him with a racist slur.

Hip problem forces 5-time finalist Murray out of Aussie Open

Andy Murray needed only a couple of days in Australia to realize the hip problem that has kept him out of competitive tennis since Wimbledon was not going to improve in time for the season’s first major.

Sharapova, Halep advance to semifinals at Shenzhen Open

SHENZHEN, China (AP) Maria Sharapova continued her preparations for an Australian Open return by beating Zarina Diyas 6-3, 6-3 Thursday to advance to the Shenzhen Open semifinals along with top-seeded Simona Halep.

Kei Nishikori out of Australian Open because wrist not ready

Kei Nishikori’s agent says the 2014 U.S. Open runner-up is pulling out of the Australian Open.

Spanish seeds Verdasco and Lopez upset at Qatar Open

DOHA, Qatar (AP) Spanish seeded players Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez were second-round casualties at the Qatar Open on Wednesday.

Coric upsets 2nd-seeded Carreno Busta at Qatar Open (Jan 2, 2018)

DOHA, Qatar (AP) Borna Coric upset second-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta in a marathon 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (8) first round win at the Qatar Open on Tuesday.

Roger Federer wins in straight sets at Hopman Cup

PERTH, Australia (AP) Roger Federer continued preparation for his Australian Open title defense with a 6-3, 7-6 (8) win over Karen Khachanov at the Hopman Cup, helping give Switzerland a 2-0 win over Russia.

Sharapova wins, Ostapenko loses at Shenzhen Open

SHENZHEN, China (AP) Maria Sharapova had 11 aces and saved seven of 10 break points to beat Alison Riske 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday and advance to the Shenzhen Open quarterfinals.

Injured Murray withdraws from Brisbane, considers surgery

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) Andy Murray is considering surgery after having to withdraw from his only competitive tuneup for the Australian Open because of the hip complaint that has sidelined him since July.

Top-seeded Wozniacki advances, defending champ Davis ousted (Jan 2, 2018)

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki needed only 57 minutes for a 6-3, 6-0 win over America Madison Brengle at the ASB Classic on Tuesday, when defending champion Lauren Davis was beaten in the first round.