1.
Vikings' Asher Allen retires at age 24
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- No. 1-seed and defending champion David Ferrer won twice Friday and is returning to the finals of the Heineken Open tennis tournament in New Zealand.
Ferrer, No. 5 in the world, was forced into double duty when rain washed out his quarterfinal match Thursday. He battled Alejandro Falla for more than 2 hours for a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win and then beat third-seeded Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals.
Verdasco, who also had to finish his quarterfinal Friday, didn't manage a break point against Ferrer. Ferrer won three-quarters of the points on serve and had 12 break opportunities of his own. He finished off one in each set.
He'll next go against Olivier Rochus, who upset eighth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-4 Friday. Rochus had six breaks -- two in each set -- in earning his 10th ATP finals appearance. He's 2-7 in those matches with his most recent title coming in 2006.
Ferrer advanced to his 26th title match. He was 2-4 in finals last year.
Ferrer is 5-2 lifetime against Rochus but they haven't played since 2008.
|
|
|
| Additional Sports News Stories | |
PARIS, June 1 (UPI) --
Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, the world's top two ranked women's tennis players, picked up wins Friday at the French Open.
|
NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) --
U.S. author Lauren Weisberger is working on a sequel to her 2003 blockbuster novel, "The Devil Wears Prada," EW.com reported.
|
MIAMI, June 1 (UPI) --
U.S. weather forecasters say the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be about average, despite the rare late-May landfall of Beryl.
|
HOLMES BEACH, Fla., June 1 (UPI) --
Employees at a Florida grocery store restrained a Cuban sandwich thief by sitting on him until authorities arrived, police say.
|
| Stories | Photos | People | Comments |
View Caption
