Kyrgios wins on return from injury
STUTTGART: Nick Kyrgios returned from a two-month absence to beat Germany’s Maximilian Marterer at the Stuttgart Open here on Thursday.
The Australian fourth seed, who missed the French Open with an elbow injury, received a bye in the first round and reached the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory.
There looked nothing wrong with Kyrgios’s serving arm as he banged down 20 aces on the grass and he delighted fans with a trademark tick shot which proved a turning point in the decider. With Marterer serving at 2-3 Kyrgios played a shot through his legs for a winner and it appeared to ruffle Marterer who then made two unforced errors to drop serve. Kyrgios then held his next two service games to book a clash with Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez.
Lopez, runner-up last year before going on to win the Queen’s Club title, beat Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-6(6), 6-4. .
PRAJNESH MISSES CLASH WITH FEDERER
NEW DELHI: Prajnesh Gunneswaran missed out on a clash with the legendary Roger Federer after losing his second round at the ATP Mercedes Cup to Argentina’s Guido Pella in Stuttgart. Prajnesh, who qualified into the tournament and stunned world No 23 Denis Shapovalov in the opening round, lost 6-7(4) 4-6 to the world No 75.
SHARAPOVA PULLS OUT OF BIRMINGHAM
LONDON: Maria Sharapova and Madison Keys have withdrawn from the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham as they look to regain full fitness ahead of Wimbledon.sharapova,the2004wimbledon champion, said she needed rest after reaching the French Open quarterfinals. Keys will miss the Birmingham event due to an abdominal injury.
KONTA BEATS WATSON TO REACH QUARTERS
LONDON : British number one Johanna Konta battled to a 6-4, 7-6(5) victory over compatriot Heather Watson in the second round of the Nature Valley Open.
Konta, a runner-up at Nottingham in 2017, continued her winning start to the grasscourt season as she aims to emulate last year’s run to the semifinals at Wimbledon . The 27-year-old was pushed to the brink by world No 69 Watson but outlasted her opponent to set up a quarterfinal clash with Slovenia’s Dalila Jakupovic.
“It was not easy for either of us and the conditions made it harder here,” Konta said. “It is never easy playing a compatriot, I feel fortunate because there was very little in it.”
World No 156 Katie Boutler, a British wildcard, also surprised the home crowd with a 7-6(6), 6-1 victory over Australia Samantha Stosur, who is positioned 53 places above the 21-year-old.
Boutler’s reward is a quarterfinal meeting with top seeded Ashleigh Barty, who brushed aside China’s Yingying Duan 6-3 6-2.