Sports FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2014 Tomic awarded US Open wild card SYDNEY: Bernard Tomic has been award- company, who signed him in his early the main draw at Flushing Meadows. ue to build on that.” ed a wild card for the US Open by Tennis teens when he was regarded as a future “I’m really happy with my tennis at the Tomic joins compatriots Lleyton Australia after his drop down the world grand slam champion, Tomic also suffered moment, and to be back in the top 100,” Hewitt, the 2001 US Open champion, Nick rankings had threatened to send him back the ignominy of the quickest defeat in ATP Tomic said in a Tennis Australia news Kyrgios, who beat Rafa Nadal on his way to to qualifying for the last grand slam tour- Tour history. release. the last eight at Wimbledon this year, nament of the year. After that 28-minute, 6-0 6-1 loss to “It’s great to have the US Open wild Marinko Matosevic, Matt Ebden and Sam The 21-year-old, who was US Open jun- Finn Jarkko Nieminen at the Miami card and I’d like to thank Tennis Australia Groth in the main draw. ior champion in 2009 and reached the Masters in March, Tomic rallied and for the opportunity. Jarmila Gajdosova also received a wild quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2011, clinched only the second singles title of his “It means I can now focus on my prepa- card for the women’s draw under a recip- slumped out of the top 100 after surgery career at the Colombian Open last month. ration and be in the best position to make rocal arrangement between Tennis on both hips triggered a miserable six That was enough to send him back up the most of my chances. Australia and the United States Tennis months on and off court. the rankings to world number 70 but came “I’ve had some pretty good results over Association. The US Open begins on Aug Dumped by his IMG management too late to secure an automatic place in the last few weeks and I hope I can contin- 25. —Reuters Serena battles past Stosur in Cincinnati CINCINNATI: World number one Serena Williams won a tense battle of US Open champions by beating Australia’s Samantha Stosur 7-6(7) 7-6(7) on Wednesday to reach the third round of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. After last week’s loss to sister Venus in the Montreal seni-finals, Williams faced another familiar foe in Stosur, who had beaten her in straight sets in the 2011 US Open final. Williams has won all four meetings against the Australian since but the 17-times grand slam winner was made to work much harder on the Cincinnati hard courts than she did in Montreal last week where she pounded Stosur 6-0 6-2. In a tight contest that did not feature a single break by either player, Williams needed nearly two hours to advance to the last 16. “She was up in both of the (tie)breakers, I think it was just a great match, to be honest,” said Williams, who has won 61 career titles but has never lifted the Cincinnati trophy. “She served unbelievable, and I was like, I can’t lose serve because she’s just serving great. “It was really intense.” Fourth seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska, fresh from her Rogers Cup win in Montreal on Sunday, cruised to a 6- 2 6-2 win over Japan’s Kurumi Nara, while German sixth seed Angelique Kerber beat Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova 6-4 6-1. Ukrainian teenager Elina Svitolina provided the biggest upset of the day by stunning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-2 7-6 (2). Playing in her first event since successfully defending her Baku title last month, the 19-year-old served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 but could not close it out and third seeded Czech Kvitova forced a tiebreak. Svitolina held her nerve, however, and reeled off five straight points from 2-2 to clinch the upset and advance to the third round in her Cincinnati debut. “I have to say number one I’m disap- MASON: Roger Federer, from Switzerland, volleys against Vasek Pospisil, from Canada, during a match at pointed how I played today, for sure,” said Kvitova. “From the begin- the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament, Wednesday, in Mason, Ohio. —AP ning I didn’t feel very comfortable out there and I was trying to really fight. I just wasn’t able to do that today. I’m not pretty sure why.” Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, seeded seventh, was ousted by Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Russian winning 6-4 3-6 6-2 to make it two Federer survives Pospisil scare from two in her career against Bouchard. Bouchard, the Wimbledon runner up, has now been knocked out in successive tournament Top seeds struggle with the conditions openers as the US Open draws closer. In the other evening matches, Serbians Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic both pushed through to CINCINNATI: Roger Federer survived an the third with an early break putting him nent in a tidy 72 minutes. the third round. Ivanovic easily took out American wild card Christina opening-match fright by outlasting on the way to clinching the milestone “The conditions are completely differ- McHale 6-4 6-0 while Jankovic was too good for German qualifier Canada’s Vasek Pospisil 7-6(4) 5-7 6-2 on win. ent here to Toronto,” said Murray, who Annika Beck 6-1 7-6(0). —Reuters Wednesday to claim his 300th Masters The day featured a pair of early upsets made a quarter-final exit in Canada. “A Series win and reach the third round of with Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun shocking few of the guys that have come in late the Western and Southern Open in fourth seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 3-6 have struggled with the conditions. Cincinnati. 6-3 6-4 while Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz “I hit the ball well from the back of the Back in action after losing to Jo- knocked off Bulgarian seventh seed court today. I was able to control the ball Wilfried Tsonga in the final of the Rogers Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 3-6 6-3. well. Cup in Toronto on Sunday, third-ranked In evening matches, Frenchman Gael “That was, for me, the most pleasing Federer appeared sluggish at times as he Monfils sent 13th seed Roberto Bautista thing about the match today because I struggled to tame the 46th-ranked Agut home with a dominant 6-4 6-1 win have seen a lot of the players have strug- Canadian. in just under an hour. gled so far.” With the victory, the second seeded The world number 23 gave his 18th Top-ranked American and 11th seed Swiss, a five-time champion on the ranked opponent a hard-court lesson, John Isner blasted his way into the third Cincinnati hard courts, becomes the first winning 80 percent of his first serves on round after firing 16 aces in a 6-3 7-6(1) player to reach 300 wins in the ATP Tour’s his way to victory, setting up a date with win over Australian qualifier Marino elite Masters 1000 events. Federer in the third round. Matosevic. Neither player was able to capitalize After a first round bye, eighth seeded Fifth seed Milos Raonic of Canada on early break chances before Federer Briton Andy Murray got his tournament made light work of American wild card eventually won the first set tiebreak on a off to a convincing start by easing past Robby Ginepri 6-2 6-2 but ninth seed forehand error by the Canadian. Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-3 6-3. Ernests Gulbis saw his tournament end at MASON: Serena Williams hits a backhand against Pospisil, Wimbledon doubles champi- Murray, who has twice hoisted the tro- the hands of American Steve Johnson 6-4 Samatha Stosur, from Australia, during a match at on with American Jack Sock, battled back phy in Cincinnati, faced just two break 6-4. Other seeds to survive included the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament, to take the second set but a focused points in the entire match, saving both, Marin Cilic, David Ferrer, Fabio Fognini Wednesday, in Mason, Ohio. —AP Federer wasted no time taking charge in while disposing of his Portuguese oppo- and Tommy Robredo. —Reuters.