Former Olympic doubles champion Flach dies
INDIAN WELLS, United States: World No 1 Simona Halep and Venus Williams punched their tickets to the Indian Wells quarterfinals, while Caroline Wozniacki suffered another exit at the hands of Russia’s rising star Daria Kasatkina.
Halep breezed through her fourth round match with a 7-5, 6-1 win over China’s Wang Qiang and eighth seed Venus Williams faced a stern test from Anastasija Sevastova but held on for a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 victory.
The 20-year-old Kasatkina, who has beaten all four reigning Grand Slam champions in the past year, continued her giant-killing form with a 6-4, 7-5 shock victory over world No 2 Wozniacki.
Kasatkina recorded her second straight win over Wozniacki, having also beaten the Australian Open champ at the St Petersburg tournament last month.
“I’m playing my best matches against the best players,” she said. “But if you want to be LONDON: Tennis was mourning the death of former Wimbledon and Olympic doubles champion Ken Flach on Tuesday after the governing body of men’s tennis, ATP, confirmed that the American had died at the age of 54.
Flach and Robert Seguso formed one of the sport’s most successful doubles partnerships in the 1980s, winning the 1987 and 1988 Wimbledon titles and the Seoul Olympics in 1988.
Flach also won two US Opens, with Seguso in 1985 and with Rick Leach in 1993 and partnered Kathy Jordan to the 1986 Roland Garros and Wimbledon mixed doubles crowns.
The ATP said on its website that Flach had initially become ill with bronchitis after playing 36 holes of golf a week ago before it progressed to pneumonia and then sepsis. on the top, you have to beat the top players. So quite a simple rule.”
Kasatkina improved to 11-6 on the WTA Tour season as she seeks to better her quarterfinal appearance here in 2016.
Kasatkina hit one ace, won 54 per cent of her first serves and broke Wozniacki’s serve six times in the one hour, 40 minute match.
“She outsmarted me today,” Wozniacki said. “But, you know, at least I tried, and I tried to do what I thought I needed to do out there today. “I just couldn’t execute as well as I wanted to.”
It was a disappointing exit for Wozniacki, who finally silenced her critics earlier this year with her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne, where she defeated Halep in the final. Wozniacki had a chance to get the No 1 back but she needed to win the Indian Wells title to do it.
Kasatkina said she is starting to believe in herself, especially when she faces top 10
Carling Bassett, a former WTA professional and the wife of Seguso, said: “It pains me to say our great friend, Ken Flach passed away last night surrounded by his family at his side.
“Unfortunately, they didn’t catch the sepsis fast enough before it so horrifically attacked all his organs. I know Ken fought until the end and now is up in heaven resting in peace. My heart goes out to his whole family.”
ATP Executive Chairman and President Chris Kermode said his death was a shock for everyone in tennis. “Ken will be remembered as one of the great US doubles players in the history of our sport,” he said. “On behalf of the ATP, we send our thoughts and deepest condolences to his family at this difficult time.”
Flach, whose accurate return game and razor-sharp volleys players. “In the beginning it was really tough because I was really nervous going on the big stages against big players,” she said.
“But now with experience and with time I’m getting into it. “I’m getting pretty confident at this level.” But she added, “I am still young so I have to work on everything.”
Kasatkina next plays 10th seed Angelique Kerber, of Germany, who roared past seventh seeded Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-1.
Meanwhile, Halep, who is one of two former champions left in the draw, is now 17-1 on the season having already won a title in both singles and doubles at Shenzhen, China.
Halep advances to the quarterfinals where she will face unseeded Petra Martic of Croatia who beat Czech Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
Halep called for a timeout in the first set so her coach Darren Cahill could come down to complimented the ferocious power of Seguso, rose to number one in the doubles rankings in 1985.
With Seguso he won 28 doubles titles and became a reliable Davis Cup pairing.
His five-set doubles victory with Seguso against Spanish rivals Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez Vicario in Seoul in 1988 was one of the great Olympic finals.
Paul Annacone, the former coach to Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, was one of the first to react to the news.
“Sometimes we get sobering reminders of the fragility of life and what we have each day, today tennis lost a family member: more importantly children lost a father a wife lost a husband, siblings lost brother, thank you for your friendship memories will last 4ever #Ripkenflach,” the American said on Twitter.
Brad Gilbert, the former world number four and Davis Cup teammate of Flach, said: “So gutted hearing the passing last night of Ken Flach. Way too young Ken was 54 absolutely stunned.”
St Louis-born Flach had four children with his first wife, model Sandra Freeman, who he married shortly after the 1986 US Open. the court to discuss strategy.
“It was really important, because he just told me what I have to do. I knew that I had to change something, but I didn’t realise what it was exactly,” she said.
“So it was a good chat. I did exactly what he said after that.”
VENUS MOVES ON Meanwhile, Venus Williams survived a difficult fourth round test to beat Latvia’s Sevastova 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 just one day after beating sister Serena in a third round contest. It was the first time Venus has beaten Serena since 2014 in Montreal.
She and Serena usually meet later in the draw in the semis or the championship match.
“It was not an easy match to figure out,” Venus said of her victory on Tuesday. “She has everything in her game. And it was a quick comeback from yesterday, where you have the emotions of, ‘Hey, this feels like a final. But guess what, you’re only in the fourth round.’” INDIAN WELLS, United States: Philipp Kohlschreiber upset second seed Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the fourth round in the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Tuesday.
Cilic’s booming serve lacked its usual accuracy and Germany’s Kohlschreiber was able to control long rallies, pushing the towering Croatian around the court with pinpoint ground strokes en route to a quick victory.
Cilic, runner-up at this year’s Australian Open, only managed to get 51 per cent of his first serves in play and was unable to convert any of his four break-point opportunities.
It is the third time that Kohlschreiber has reached the fourth round at the
Williams, who is the oldest female player in the draw at 37, rallied in the second set against Sevastova to book her spot in the quarterfinals.
Venus next faces Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain who rolled past Danielle Collins 6-2, 6-4. tournament in the California desert and his seventh victory over Cilic in 11 career meetings.
The 31st seed will next face Frenchman Pierre-hugues Herbert, who advanced after Gael Monfils was forced to retire from their match due to back pain.
Sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro fended off veteran Spaniard David Ferrer 6-4, 7-6(3), who battled gamely but was ultimately worn down by del Potro’s big serve and punishing forehand.
The win sets up an all-argentinian fourth round battle between del Potro and countryman Leonardo Mayer, who earlier cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Japan’s Taro Daniel.
Del Potro is the second-highest seed remaining in the competition, behind No 1 Roger Federer, but the Argentine said he was giving no thought to his title chances.
“I’m not thinking about that. I just want to keep winning,” he told reporters.
“It’s good for me to feel this confidence when I get to the court and I play well, but I’m going step by step. I will play another Argentinian guy tomorrow, which is a special match for both. It’s not easy when you play against a friend.”
In other matches, Feliciano Lopez beat Jack Sock 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4, Milos Raonic beat Joao Sousa 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, Sam Querrey took down Yuki Bhambri 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 and Marcos Baghdatis beat Dudi Sela 7-6(5), 6-4.