Davis Cup, Fed Cup restructure plans find no approval in meet

HANOI: The head of tennis’s governing body expressed disappointment as a key move to revamp the Davis Cup and Fed Cup competitions failed to win approval. International Tennis Federation (ITF) president David Haggerty said he had concerns over the futures of the historic tournaments after the unsuccessful attempt to cut singles matches from five to three sets.

ANDERSON OUSTS TOPSEED, NISHIKORI WINS

WASHINGTON: South Africa’s Kevin Anderson upset top seed Dominic Thiem while Japanese second seed Kei Nishikori won a battle of past champions Thursday to advance at the ATP Citi Open.

Anderson beat Thiem 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (9/7) after two hours and 46 minutes to reach the quarter-finals. In the women’s category, Simona Halep battled through extreme heat to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA Citi Open while Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard was ousted Thursday by Andrea Petkovic.

INJURED MURRAY, CILIC PULL OUT

LONDON: Andy Murray andMarin Cilic withdrew from the Rogers Cup on Thursday as injuries continued to take a toll on the Canadian hardcourt event.

The withdrawal of Murray and Cilic comes on the heels of U.S. Open champion and world number three Stan Wawrinka announcing he would not be in Montreal due to a knee injury.

IOC DEFENDS STANCE ON RUSSIAN DOPING

LONDON: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday defended its stance on Russia despite being criticised for baulking at calls to ban the country outright from Rio Olympics over doping.

“It was very clear that, as we have always said, different issues need different approaches,” German Thomas Bach German said.