Tennis: Dementieva slumps to defeat
After her defeat the Russian said she had given up any hope of qualifying for the season-ending WTA Championships in Los Angeles next month.
Russian fifth seed Elena Likhovtseva was also beaten 6-1 4-6 7-5 by Ai Sugiyama of Japan after looking at one stage as if she might not be able to finish the match.
Results (first round): Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) bt Barbara Strycova (CZE) 6-1, 6-2; Ai Sugiyama (JPN) bt Jelena Lichowczewa (RUS) 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.
Quarterfinals: Kveta Peschke (CZE) bt Jelena Dementjewa (RUS) 6-3, 7-5
BASEL (Switzerland): Guillermo Coria took a step closer to a place at next month’s Masters Cup with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Alberto Martin in the first round of the 829,000-euro Swiss Indoors on Wednesday.
The top seed from Argentina admitted that booking a spot in the elite eight-man field in Shanghai, which begins Nov 13, is top of his thoughts.
Results men’s singles (first round): Andy Murray (Britain) bt Tim Henman (Britain) 6-2 5-7 7-6(4); Agustin Calleri (Argentina) bt Razvan Sabau (Romania) 6-0 6-3; Guillermo Coria (Argentina) bt Alberto Martin (Spain) 6-2 6-4; Dominik Hrbaty (Slovakia) bt Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) 7-6(7) 6-2
LYON (France): Ivan Ljubicic’s hopes of qualifying for the Masters Cup suffered a blow when he lost 7-6 7-5 to American Vince Spadea in the first round of the Lyon indoor tournament on Wednesday.
The Croatian fourth seed said he was still feeling exhausted after his five-set defeat by Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the final of the Madrid Masters on Sunday.
Results men’s singles (first round): Fabrice Santoro (France) bt Taylor Dent (United States) 6-3 7-5; Vince Spadea (United States) bt Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) 7-6(5) 7-5
SAINT PETERSBURG (Moscow): Results from the third day of the one-million-dollar Saint Petersburg Open ATP tennis tournament here on Wednesday.
First round: Paul Goldstein (USA) bt Lars Burgsmuller (GER) 7-6 (8/6), 2-6, 6-3
Second round: Kenneth Carlsen (DEN) bt Sergei Stakhovski (UKR) 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (8/6).—Agencies