Rafael Nadal had to apologise for his Mallorcan time-keeping but there was nothing sloppy about the Spaniard’s tennis as he swept aside Florian Mayer to reach the Australian Open second round. After defeating Mayer 6-3 6-4 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena, Nadal came into his press conference staring at his watch.
Category: Marcos Baghdatis
Sock beats Sousa to win ASB Classic
Fourth-seeded American Jack Sock made amends for the disappointment of a year ago when he beat Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in Saturday’s final to win the ASB Tennis Classic. Sock also reached the tournament final in 2016 but had to pull out of the title match due to illness.
British qualifier Brydan Klein through to second round in Auckland
British qualifier Brydan Klein is through to the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland after beating Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis. Australian-born Klein, ranked 324 in the world, looked to be on his way out as he trailed 5-2 in the third set after giving up four match points in the second, but hit back for a 6-1 6-7 7-6 victory against the world number 55. Elsewhere, fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas was beaten 6-1 7-5 by Joao Sousa, while Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan battled back from a set down to triumph 4-6 7-6 7-6 against Russian youngster Karen Khachanov.