READ THE LATEST INFO FROM TC.COM

WTA / ATP News

American players Brian Baker and Mardy Fish pull out of upcoming French Open

May 22, 2013

PARIS - American players Brian Baker and Mardy Fish have pulled out of the upcoming French Open.

Organizers said Wednesday that Baker has not recovered from a right knee operation and Fish is unfit due to heart problems. They will be replaced in Friday's draw by Joao Sousa of Portugal and Guido Pella of Argentina.

John Millan, an Australian wild-card entry, withdrew because of a shoulder injury and will be replaced by Nick Kyrgios of Australia.

U.S. Open champion Andy Murray pulled out late Tuesday because of a chronic back injury and will be replaced by a lucky loser.

In the women's draw, Chan Yung-jan (illness), Alexandra Dulgheru (right wrist injury) and Lara Arruabarrena (mononucleosis) have also withdrawn. They will be replaced by Shahar Peer, Tatjana Maria and Nina Bratchikova.


Andy Murray withdraws from French Open because of chronic back injury, will focus on Wimbledon

May 21, 2013
Andy Murray withdraws from French Open because of chronic back injury, will focus on Wimbledon

LONDON - Andy Murray withdrew from the French Open on Tuesday because of a chronic back injury and will now focus on preparing for the start of the grass-court season next month.

The U.S. Open champion met with specialists this week after being forced to pull out of his second-match against Marcel Granollers of Spain at the Italian Open last Wednesday because of the long-standing complaint.

"It's a really tough decision and I love playing in Paris, but after seeking medical advice I am not fit to compete," Murray said in a statement. "Apologies to the organizers and thanks to everyone for the messages of support. Now my complete focus is on getting back on the court as soon as possible."

The French Open, the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, starts Sunday at Roland Garros.

Last week in Rome, Murray took a long injury break early in the second set against Granollers, getting his left thigh and lower back massaged.

He seemed pessimistic about his chances of playing in the French Open, the only major in which he hasn't reached the final.

"I have an issue with my lower back. It's been an issue for a while," Murray said then. "I want to make sure it goes away. It's been a problem since the end of 2011 but it got bad during last year's clay season.

"I would be very surprised if I was playing in Paris."

Murray reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros last year, falling to David Ferrer, before going on to lose his first Wimbledon final to Roger Federer. He avenged that defeat against the Swiss star to win Olympic gold, and downed Novak Djovokic at Flushing Meadow for his first Grand Slam title later in 2012.

Wimbledon runs from June 24 to July 7 this year.


Nikolay Davydenko beaten by 'lucky loser' in Power Horse Cup 1st round for 4th straight loss

May 21, 2013

DUESSELDORF, Germany - Eighth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko lost his fourth straight match Tuesday, falling 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to "lucky loser" Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia in the first round of the Power Horse Cup.

Bedene replaced Dmitry Tursunov of Russia in the main draw and needed less than 2 hours to add to Davydenko's opening-round losses in Munich, Madrid and Rome.

Seventh-seeded Viktor Troicki defeated Michael Russell of the United States 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The Serb will play Grega Zemlja of Slovenia, who saved 13 of 15 breakpoints to beat David Goffin of Belgium 5-7, 6-0, 6-2.

Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands defeated Kazakh qualifier Evgeny Korolev 6-2, 6-4, serving 15 aces in his first clay-court match of the season. He will meet Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.


Sixth-seeded Fabio Fognini into 2nd round at Nice Open; Stakhovsky, Mathieu also through

May 21, 2013

NICE, France - Sixth-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy rallied past Marco Cecchinato 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 Tuesday in an all-Italian match in the first round at the Nice Open.

Fognini won only three points on his opponent's serve in the first set, but broke twice in the second set and three times in the third. He faces French wild card Gael Monfils, who came from behind to beat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine defeated Brazilian qualifier Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-2, 6-3, breaking serve four times. He plays third-seeded American Sam Querrey.

Paul-Henri Mathieu of France also advanced, downing American Ryan Harrison 6-4, 6-4.

Guillaume Rufin progressed with a 6-3, 6-1 win against Italy's Paolo Lorenzi. He meets second-seeded Gilles Simon in an all-French match.


Top seeded players Marion Bartoli, Tamira Paszek knocked out in 1st round at Strasbourg

May 21, 2013

STRASBOURG, France - Top-seeded Marion Bartoli and No. 2 Tamira Paszek were beaten Tuesday in the first round of the Strasbourg International.

Bartoli, the 2007 Wimbledon finalist, lost 6-3, 6-2 to the 88th-ranked Camila Giorgi after dropping serve six times. Paszek was beaten 6-1, 6-4 by wild-card entry Virgine Razzano.

Lauren Davis upset sixth-seeded Christina McHale 7-5, 6-3, Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor downed No. 8 Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), and fourth-seeded Hsieh Su-wei rallied to beat Annika Beck 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-1.

Third-seeded Alize Cornet converted all four breakpoints to win 6-3, 6-2 against Mathilde Johansson, No. 5 Monica Niculescu of Romania rallied past Marina Erakovic 6-7 (7), 6-3, 7-5 (5), and No. 7 Chanelle Scheepers topped Claire Feuerstein 7-5, 6-4.

Flavia Pannetta, Misaki Doi, Anna Tatishvili, Eugenie Bouchard, Johanna Larsson, Lucie Hradecka, Magda Linette and Shelby Rogers advanced.

Heavy rain prevented any play Monday, forcing all seven first-round matches to be moved to Tuesday.


First-round matches at Strasbourg International postponed to Tuesday because of rain

May 20, 2013

STRASBOURG, France - Heavy rain prevented any play at the Strasbourg International, forcing all seven first-round matches to be postponed to Tuesday.

Top-seeded Marion Bartoli of France, Tamira Paszek of Austria and Christina McHale of the United States had been scheduled to play Monday.

The Strasbourg International is a warm-up tournament for the French Open, which starts Sunday.


Jarkko Nieminen beats Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-1 to reach 2nd round at Power Horse Cup in Germany

May 20, 2013

DUESSELDORF, Germany - Sixth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland advanced to the second round of the Power Horse Cup by beating Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 6-3, 6-1 on Monday.

Brazilian qualifier Andre Gham defeated Go Soeda of Japan 6-4, 6-0. Gham is ranked No. 260 in the world, Soeda is No. 115.

Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain landed 80 per cent of first serves to rally past Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Muller committed seven double-faults.

Tobias Kamke defeated Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-2 in an all-German match.

The clay-court tournament replaced the World Team Cup and is a warm-up for the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year that starts Sunday.


Lleyton Hewitt, Andreas Seppi lose in 1st round at Nice Open, a warm-up for French Open

May 20, 2013

NICE, France - Former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and fifth-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy lost Monday in the first round of the Nice Open.

Hewitt, playing in this tournament for the first time, was beaten by Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Seppi fell to Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan 7-5, 1-6, 6-4. Lu will next play Andujar, a semifinalist at this month's Madrid Open.

Carlos Berlocq of Argentina and Robin Haase of the Netherlands also advanced. Haase faces fourth-seeded John Isner of the U.S. in the next round.

Berlocq didn't face a break point in his 6-2, 6-1 victory over compatriot Leonardo Mayer. Haase beat Marinko Matosevic of Australia 6-1, 6-4.

Victor Hanescu of Romania outlasted Albert Ramos of Spain 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. The 2011 runner-up will meet Albert Montanes of Spain.


Ricardas Berankis beats 8th-seeded Denis Istomin 6-2, 6-2 in Nice; Roger-Vasselin also through

May 19, 2013

NICE, France - Ricardas Berankis reached the second round of the Nice Open by beating eighth-seeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday.

The Lithuanian broke Istomin five times in the opening match of the tournament. He will face Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France, who advanced when Colombia's Alejandro Falla retired with a left calf injury while trailing 7-5.


Daniel Brands upsets 5th-seeded Lukas Rosol in 1st round of Power Horse Cup tournament

May 19, 2013

DUESSELDORF, Germany - Daniel Brands of Germany upset fifth-seeded Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Power Horse Cup on Sunday.

The clay-court tournament replaced the World Team Cup to become the warm-up event for next week's French Open, the second Grand Slam event of the season.

Ivan Dodig of Croatia defeated Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia 7-5, 6-4 to set up a second-round match against Tommy Haas. Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic defeated Evgeny Donskoy of Russia 6-2, 6-2.