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Mexican Open: Britain's Cameron Norrie beaten by Dominic Thiem in first round

  • Posted: Feb 28, 2018

Britain’s Cameron Norrie is out of the Mexican Open after being beaten 6-3 5-7 7-5 by world number six Dominic Thiem.

Norrie saved five break points before losing his serve in game eight of the first set as Thiem edged in front.

The world number 114 broke twice to level the match but, despite making 89% of his first serves in the decider, Norrie was broken in game 11 and Thiem held serve to reach round two.

Fellow Briton Heather Watson was beaten 7-5 4-6 6-1 by Beatriz Haddad Maia.

The world number 71 was broken twice in the decider to fall 5-0 behind but showed some fight by saving four match points before losing to the Brazilian, ranked 60, in her first-round match which lasted more than two and a half hours.

British number three Norrie, 22, has had an impressive month after making his Davis Cup debut as Britain lost 3-1 to Spain in Marbella.

He won his first singles rubber, coming from two sets down to beat Roberto Bautista Agut – ranked 91 places above him – before losing in four sets to world number 21 Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

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The Best Month of Jarry's Career Continues

  • Posted: Feb 28, 2018

The Best Month of Jarry’s Career Continues

Chilean coming off his first ATP World Tour SF in Rio

Nicolas Jarry’s fantastic February collected another win on Tuesday at the Brasil Open in Sao Paulo. The Chilean won 74 per cent of his first-serve points (34/46) for the match and saved both break points faced in the decider to fight past Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.

“I’m happy to be able to get this great win. Dusan is a great clay-court player, and it’s a great victory for me,” Jarry said.

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The 22-year-old Jarry reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final at the Ecuador Open three weeks ago and his first ATP World Tour semi-final last week at the Rio Open presented by Claro. Jarry lost to the eventual champion at both tournaments (l. to Carballes Baena in Quito; Schwartzman in Rio de Janeiro).

Jarry, at a career-high No. 73 in the ATP Rankings, will next meet sixth seed Guido Pella of Argentina, who beat #NextGenATP Frenchman Corentin Moutet 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Pella captured 64 per cent of his second-serve return points (23/36).

Home favourite Rogerio Dutra Silva upset seventh seed Tennys Sandgren 6-0, 6-4. But Dutra Silva’s countryman Thomaz Bellucci wasn’t as fortunate, falling to Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3.

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Rafael Nadal pulls out of Mexican Open with hip injury

  • Posted: Feb 28, 2018

World number two Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the Mexican Open after a recurrence of the injury that saw him retire from January’s Australian Open.

The 16-time grand slam champion was due to face fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the opening round on Wednesday in Acapulco.

Nadal retired in the fifth set of his quarter-final against Marin Cilic in Melbourne last month with a hip injury.

“My goal and hope was to play in this tournament,” said the 31-year-old.

“Unfortunately, in my last training session yesterday, I felt a sharp pain in my leg again.”

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Federer’s Twin Wins Crash Laureus Web Site

  • Posted: Feb 28, 2018

Federer’s Twin Wins Crash Laureus Web Site

Swiss now holds a record six Laureus awards

Roger Federer was honoured by the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards on Tuesday, picking up the Sportsman of the Year and Comeback of the Year awards at the ceremony in Monaco. The 36-year-old tennis star managed to briefly crash the Laureus website in the process as fans flocked online to read about his win.

The ATP World Tour No. 1 received his sixth award since the Laureus Awards began in 2000, making him the most decorated winner in its history. Following a 2016 season curtailed by knee and back problems, Federer returned in 2017 to win seven titles, including two Grand Slams and three ATP World Tour Masters 1000s in a run that laid the groundwork for his eventual return to No. 1 in the ATP Rankings earlier this month.

“I’m humbled to stand in front of you and receive this award,” Federer said during the ceremony. “The Laureus Foundation does amazing work. I have a foundation of my own and get inspired and motivated by what you do. Maybe one day, I’ll be remembered for my philanthropic work rather than my tennis work.”

Federer beat out Rafael Nadal, Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, British distance runner Mo Farah, four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome and four-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton to claim the Sportsman of the Year award.

Federer hoisted the Laureus Sportsman of the Year trophy from 2005-08.

“When I won my first Laureus Award back in 2005, if you had said I would end up winning six, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Federer said. “It’s been an amazing ride.”

“Everyone knows how highly I value my Laureus Awards, so to win another would have been wonderful, but to win two is a truly unique honour. (2017) was an unforgettable year for me, to come back after a very difficult 2016, and these (awards) just make it even more memorable.”

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Federer and Williams win Laureus awards for 2017

  • Posted: Feb 27, 2018

Twenty-time tennis grand slam champion Roger Federer has won the 2017 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and Comeback of the Year awards.

The 36-year-old Swiss won the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 2017 after seven years without a major.

“I didn’t believe I would ever come back to this level,” said Federer. “The year I had was something else.”

Serena Williams took the World Sportswoman of the Year award after winning her 23rd grand slam in 2017.

“This means the world to me,” added world number one Federer.

“The comebacks are always extremely emotional. Last year was a dream come true.”

Formula 1 constructors’ champions Mercedes picked up the Team of the Year accolade, and wheelchair athlete Marcel Hug won Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.

“There’s so much expertise in all parts of our team, I feel so proud to be a part of it,” said Mercedes’ world champion Lewis Hamilton

Also at the ceremony in Monaco, golfer Sergio Garcia secured the Breakthrough prize following his Masters success, while recently-retired Roma forward Francesco Totti clinched the Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement award.

Brazilian football club Chapecoense were given the Best Sporting Moment of the Year for their response in adversity following a plane crash in 2016 in which they lost the majority of their team.

Winners:

Sportsman of the Year award

Roger Federer.

Also nominated: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) football, Mo Farah (GB) athletics, Chris Froome (GB) cycling, Lewis Hamilton (GB) Formula 1, Rafael Nadal (Spain) tennis.

Sportswoman of the Year award

Serena Williams.

Also nominated: Garbine Muguruza (Spain) tennis, Caster Semenya (South Africa) athletics, Allyson Felix (US) athletics, Katie Ledecky (US) swimming, Mikaela Shiffrin (US) alpine skiing.

Team of the Year

Mercedes.

Also nominated: France’s Davis Cup team (tennis), Golden State Warriors (basketball), New England Patriots (American football), New Zealand’s America’s Cup team (sailing), Real Madrid (football).

Breakthrough of the Year

Sergio Garcia.

Also nominated: Anthony Joshua (GB) boxing, Kylian Mbappe (France) football, Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) tennis, Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) basketball, Caeleb Dressel (US) swimming.

Comeback of the Year

Roger Federer.

Also nominated: FC Barcelona (Spain) football, Valentino Rossi (Italy) motorsport, Sally Pearson (Australia) athletics, Justin Gatlin (US) athletics, Chapecoense (Brazil) football.

Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability

Marcel Hug.

Also nominated: Yui Kamiji (Japan) wheelchair tennis, Oksana Masters (US) cross-country skiing, Bibian Mentel-Spee (Netherlands) snowboarding, Jetze Plat (Netherlands) ironman, Markus Rehm (Germany) long jump.

Action Sportsperson of the Year

Armel Le Cleac’h.

Also nominated: Tyler Wright (Australia) surfing, John John Florence (US) surfing, Anna Gasser (Austria) snowboarding, Mark McMorris (Canada) snowboarding, Nyjah Huston (US) skateboarding.

Best Sporting Moment of the Year

Chapecoense.

Also nominated: The Iowa Hawkeyes and the ‘Kinnick Wave’ (US) American football, Bradley Lowery and his special bond with Jermain Defoe (GB) football, Kimi Raikkonen and his six-year-old fan Thomas Danel (Finland) Formula 1, Billy Monger (GB) motorsport.

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Top seed Dimitrov loses to wildcard in Dubai

  • Posted: Feb 27, 2018

Top seed Grigor Dimitrov suffered a shock exit to veteran wildcard Malek Jaziri in the opening round of the Dubai Duty Free Championships.

The Bulgarian took a first-set lead but Tunisia’s Jaziri, ranked 117th in the world, rallied to beat the world number four 4-6 7-5 6-4.

Jaziri, 34, will now play Dutchman Robin Haase in the second round.

“You have days like this that you can’t really do much else,” said Dimitrov, runner-up in Rotterdam a week ago.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t play my game to the extent that I was looking for. My movement was not good over the court. I thought I served OK for a little bit, but then I lost my rhythm again.”

Jaziri said it was a “great feeling” to win his first match against a top-five player, adding: “I am really happy for that. I tried to fight every point since the beginning. It was so tight.”

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Gabriella Taylor: British tennis player looks forward to breaking into top 200

  • Posted: Feb 27, 2018

Britain’s Gabriella Taylor is set to break into the world’s top 200 for the first time days before her 20th birthday after a strong start to 2018.

Taylor has won three of her last four tournaments on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit.

Coaches Xavier Budo and David Sunyer have been working with the 19-year-old, from Southampton, since November.

“They’ve helped change my mindset,” Taylor told BBC Radio Solent. “That’s helped me both on and off the court.”

Budo previously guided Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro to the world’s top 10 in early 2016.

Taylor has enjoyed tournament victories either side of Christmas in Perth, Launceston and Mumbai since working with him.

“It’s been an absolutely great start to the year,” she said. “We’ve all clicked together as a team.

“They’ve shown me that at the end of the day, it’s not all about winning or losing, but taking the positives from every match and focusing on your future goals and game plans.”

Taylor unexpectedly made headlines when a mystery illness forced her to withdraw from the girls’ singles at Wimbledon in July 2016.

She spent four days in intensive care at Southampton General Hospital as claims she had been poisoned were investigated by Scotland Yard.

“Now that’s in the past, I try not to think about it and just move on,” Taylor said. “It did take it out of me for a couple of months when it happened.

“Last season, I also missed two months at the end of the grass court season with glandular fever, so it’s great to be back out on the court playing the game I love.”

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