ATLANTA, Georgia – American wild card Jack Sock defeated seventh seed Alex Bogomolov 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the opening round Monday of the ATP Tour's Atlanta Open. The 19-year-old Sock converted two of his three break points while saving six of the seven chances he faced on serve in the two hour, 15 minute match. Russia's Bogomolov has now lost five consecutive matches and falls to 9-21 on the season. Sock is no stranger to winning lower-level matches as he captured the US Open junior doubles title in 2010 and the mixed doubles crown in 2011. He is now trying to raise his game to the highest level, and in order to help him do that, he recently hired former world top 10 player Joakim Nystrom as his coach. In other matches, Luxembourg's Gilles Muller posted his 100th singles win by hammering 14 aces past Australian Marinko Matosevic for a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 victory. Muller improves to a 12-14 on the season and moves on to square off against two-time defending champion Mardy Fish of the US. Muller is a former US Open quarterfinalist.
Radwanska upsets Hantuchova
In Carlsbad, ixth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia lost 6-4, 7-5 Poland's Ursula Radwanska in the first round of the Mercury Insurance Open Monday. Hantuchova made an unforced error when she sent a forehand long to give the match to Radwanska. Hantuchova, who has had an inconsistent season marked by a left foot injury that caused her to miss more than a month, dropped the first set when Radwanska registered the only service break in the fifth game. Radwanska, the younger sister of world No. 2 Anieszka Radwanska, traded service breaks with Hantuchova early in the second set. Radwanska broke serve again for a 5-4 lead before winning the match on her next service game. Earlier, Varvara Lepchenko cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 win over fellow-American Nicole Gibbs. Uzbekistan-born Lepchenko, a naturalized US citizen and member of the US Olympic team for London, used a variety of shots including numerous drop shots for winners as she advanced to the second round.
Serena shifts focus to Olympics
While Stanford champ Serena Williams shifts her focus to the London Olympics, runner-up Coco Vandeweghe is poised to continue her breakthrough season at Carlsbad. Williams, who earlier this month won her fifth Wimbledon crown, beat the 20-year-old Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-3 Sunday for her second straight WTA Tour title at the Stanford tournament. The world No. 4 is not in competition this week after winning Stanford and will soon head to Britain for the Summer Games, which open a week from Friday. “(A gold medal) would mean a lot to me, but I can't put all my hopes and dreams on just that,” said the 30-year-old Williams, who has twice lifted Olympic doubles gold with her elder sister Venus. — Agencies
