THURSDAY, 11.30AM:
MARCELLO RIOS, who was ranked men’s tennis world number one last month, lost his opening match of the German Open 2-6 7-6 6-3 to a resurgent Wayne Ferreira of South Africa.
The top-seeded Chilean didn’t go down without a fight, though, hurling himself and his racquet about the court in a most entertaining manner.
Rios lost his top spot on the rankings due to an elbow injury, and at one stage during the match fell heavily on the injured arm.
Ferreira, a former world top-10 player, said he felt it was the right time to play against Rios, “after an injury break”, and said he had tried to dictate the match after he realised that Rios “wasn’t doing much off the ground”.
Rios said after the match that he was not too disappointed with the result, adding that he will be fit for the French Open.
Meanwhile, top South African women’s player Amanda Coetzer was bundled out of the Italian Open at Foro Italico on Wednesday.
Coetzer, seeded three for the tournament, and a French Open semifinalist last year, was gunned down 6-2 6-2 by Romanian Ruxandra Dragomir.
SPORT BRIEFS
SA U23 SQUAD
SOUTH African Under-23 soccer coach Shakes Mashaba on Wednesday named 18 players who will travel to France for the 26th Festival International Espoirs of Toulon next week. South Africa are pitted against Argentina, France and England in group A, while Germany, Brazil, China and Portugal are in group B in the eight-nation tournament, which kicks off on May 14.
The squad is:
Emile Baron (Hellenic), Wayne Roberts (Cape Town Spurs), Ashley Makhanya (Wits University), Aaron Mokoena (Jomo Cosmos), Nkhiphitheni Matombo (Manning Rangers), Matthew Booth (Cape Town Spurs), Bradley Carnell (Kaizer Chiefs), David Kannemeyer (Cape Town Spurs), Japie Motale (Supersport United), Anton Greyling (Supersport United), Chrissandro de Webber (Hellenic), Bradley August (Hellenic), Steve Lekoelea (Orlando Pirates), Stanton Fredericks (Wits University), Patric Mbuthu (Qwa Qwa Stars), Hendrick Gulwa (Bloemfontein Celtic), Siyabonga Nomvete (African Wanderers).
STECK OUT IN FIRST
JESSICA STECK of South Africa was beaten by 6-0 2-6 6-4 by Christina Papadaki of Greece in the opening round of the USTA Challenger of Midlothian event on Tuesday.
SANDERS FIT TO FIGHT
WBU and South African heavyweight boxing champion Corrie Sanders has been given the go-ahead to fight American Bobby Czyz in the US on June 12. There had been fears earlier that the fight might have to be postponed after Sanderes had dropped a weight on his chest while training.
BOKS START IN SCOTLAND
WORLD Cup Rugby champions South Africa will begin the defence of their title in Scotland next year. Murrayfield in Edinburgh will be the venue for six matches during the tournament, while Hampden Park in Glasgow is expected to stage the Springboks’ opening pool game.
SAFA WANTS R100m FOR BID
THE South African Football Association will be looking for R100-million from sponsors in the private sector to finance their plans to secure the World Cup finals in 2006. Safa vice-president Irwin Khoza said Safa will not ask the government for large amounts of money, but will instead ask it to use political clout to ensure the bid succeeds.
STRATTON STILL IN LEAD
DAVID STRATTON birdied four of the last eight holes he played on Wednesday on his way to a 71 for 138, a score good enough to keep him on top of the leaderboard in the Compleat Golfer SA Mid-Amateur Championship being played on Royal Johannesburg’s West Course.
SA LEAD BY EIGHT
THANKS mainly to Wendy Warrington’s level-par 72, South Africa raced to an eight-stroke lead after the first round of the All Africa Challenge Trophy women’s tournament at Randpark. Play was hampered by strong winds and Warrington’s was the best score of the day.