Shaking hands after a match is customary, but a selfie? Horacio Zeballos may have started a new trend after being defeated by Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Wednesday: The Argentine asked the defending champion for a quick picture as he left the court. “It was quite nice, a nice surprise,” said the Serbian World No. 2. “I think at the end of the day, two tennis players on the court try to outplay each other and win in the game of tennis. Once that's finished, once you shake hands, you're people... You're a person, a human being. Of course you want to win. But once it's done, it's done. The past is behind you.” Eehhh...
Watch highlights of Stan Wawrinka fighting past Viktor Troicki at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. Video courtesy Tennis Australia. Getty Images photo.
World No. 1 Andy Murray battled past Gerald Melzer to secure a spot in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open quarter-finals. The Scot needed two hours and 23 minutes to overcome the Austrian’s effort, 7-6(6), 7-5 on Wednesday. “It was a really good match. I was happy with how I handled it. It wasn't easy because I was having to do a lot of defending and I wasn't able to impose myself as I would've liked because he was taking huge cuts every time he had the opportunity,” Murray said. “But the positive was in the important moments I stayed strong. I served pretty well when I needed to. I moved really well tonight, which is huge part of my game. So...
Defending champion Novak Djokovic cruised into the Qatar ExxonMobil Open quarter-finals on Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Horacio Zeballos in 72 minutes. World No. 2 Djokovic broke No. 71-ranked Zeballos’ serve in the fourth game en route to opening up a 4-1 lead, then for a 3-2 advantage in the second set. It was his ninth match win (9-1 lifetime) at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament, where he beat Rafael Nadal for last year’s title. “You’re trying to start with the right intensity, and the start of the match today was definitely better than the first round,” said Djokovic. “Although I was quite pleasantly surprised with his aggressive play… it was a good, quality match. I thought...
Slovakian qualifier Jozef Kovalik, competing against a Top 10 player for the first time in his career, knocked out top seed and 2009-2010 champion Marin Cilic 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-5 on Wednesday in the Aircel Chennai Open second round. Kovalik, who finished at a year-end best No. 117 in the Emirates ATP Rankings last season, withstood 18 aces from Cilic and saved nine of 11 break points for victory in two hours and 48 minutes. He goes on to meet Tecnifibre-sponsored Daniil Medvedev, who defeated eighth seed Yen-Hsun Lu 6-4, 6-3 in 86 minutes. Elsewhere, third seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas swept past Steve Darcis 6-2, 6-0 in 64 minutes. He will next face Dudi Sela, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Hyeon Chung....
