Fish puts US ahead, tops Wawrinka in 5 (AP) - The United States took a 1-0 lead against Switzerland in the first round of the Davis Cup on Friday when Mardy Fish beat Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 9-7 in a thrilling opening match. Fish fought back after wasting a match point chance at 5-4 in the deciding set. He won six games later with a crosscourt volley at the net, silencing the raucous Swiss fans after a match lasting 4 hours, 26...
Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:44:34 PSTKerber stuns Sharapova in Paris quarters (AP) - Top-seeded Maria Sharapova was ousted from the Open GDF Suez on Friday, beaten by Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Kerber, a U.S. Open semifinalist, will next play Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium or Mona Barthel of Germany. Kerber broke serve three times in the first set and rallied from 3-1 down in the second, clinching victory when the Russian hit a forehand long.
Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:26:33 PSTInjured Kvitova pulls out of Qatar Open (AP) - Wimbledon Open champion Petra Kvitova has pulled out of the Qatar Ladies Open because of an unspecified injury. The second-ranked Czech will miss the tournament that starts Monday. Tournament organizers say they have no information on Kvitova's injury. Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka is the top-seeded player.
Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:42:35 PSTHantuchova again reaches Pattaya semis (AP) - Defending champion Daniela Hantuchova ousted Vania King of the United States 7-6 (7), 6-4 Friday to reach the semifinals at the Pattaya Open. The Slovak remained unbeaten against King with a 7-0 record. Hantuchova will face Taiwanese qualifier Hsieh Su-wei, who beat Sania Mirza of India 7-5, 6-3. Sorana Cirstea of Romania reached semifinal when top-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia retired with a left...
Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:12:34 PSTChilean star Gonzalez says he'll retire (AP) - Fernando Gonzalez of Chile is set to retire after the Masters tournament next month in Florida. The 31-year-old Gonzalez, who reached No. 5 in the ATP rankings, made the announcement at an emotional news conference on Thursday. He said he no longer had the energy to play at the top level after having been bothered by back, knee and hip injuries for several years.
Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:10:20 PSTCroatia earns 1st-round split with Japan (AP) - Ivo Karlovic beat Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 Friday to give Croatia a split against Japan in the first round of the Davis Cup. Karlovic overpowered Nishikori with 18 aces in the day's second singles in World Group play. In the first match, Japan's Go Soeda rallied past Ivan Dodig 6-7 (3), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5.
Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:42:32 PSTSpanish govt. may sue over doping skit (AP) - The Spanish government is considering legal action against a French TV station that poked fun at alleged ties to doping by athletes. Some of Spain's most famous athletes came out in defense of their achievements on Thursday. That's a day after the Spanish tennis federation announced plans to sue Canal Plus for a video skit that used its logo and made fun of Rafael Nadal and other athletes.
Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:11:32 PST