Nadal withdraws from Qatar Open, says ‘not ready to compete’
Former world no. 1 tennis star Rafael Nadal has further delayed his comeback after pulling out of the upcoming Qatar Open.
Unseeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi sent shocking waves as she defeated defending champion and fourth seed Sofia Kenin of America in the women’s singles event of the ongoing Australian Open on Thursday.
Kenin crashed out of the year’s first Major after a straight set defeat of 6-3, 6-2 to Kanepi in the second-round.
On the other hand, women’s singles top seed Ashleigh Barty of Australia kept herself alive after playing out a tie-breaker in the second set to overcome the challenge thrown by Daria Gavrilova. Barty won 6-1, 7-6 (9) and will now face Russia’s Ekaterina Alexanderova in the third round.
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In men’s singles, 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal beat Malaysian qualifier Michael Mmoh in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to ease into the third round. The Spaniard will now face Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas had to dig deep in a five-set thriller against Thanasi Kokkinakis. In a match that involved two tie-breakers, Tsitsipas eventually won 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-4. He faces Mikael Ymer of Sweden in the third round.
Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev will face Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic after a 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 win over Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena.
Czech sixth seed Karolina Pliskova beat American Danielle Collins 7-5, 6-2 and will face compatriot Karolina Muchova in the third round. Ukranian fifth seed Elina Svitolina beat American teenager Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-3 and will face Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.
India’s Divij Sharan and Ankita Raina were both knocked out of the men’s and women’s doubles matches respectively.
Sharan and his Serbian partner Igor Zelenay lost 1-6, 4-6 to German pair Yannick Hanfman and Kevin Krawietz in the first round of men’s doubles. Ankita and Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu were brushed aside Australia’s Olivia Gadecki and Belinda Woolcock 6-3, 6-0.
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