Al Hilal advances to AFC Champions League knockout stage despite 1-1 draw with Al Sadd    Finance minister: All Vision 2030 projects have sustainable funding that won't affect public finances    Crown Prince announces medium-term debt strategy to diversify funding sources "A resilient economy capable of overcoming challenges reflects progress towards achieving Vision 2030 goals"    'No excuses' for Israel to not accept ceasefire deal, EU foreign policy chief says    Alkhorayef highlights role of National Initiative for Global Supply Chains in boosting Saudi economy    Saudi Arabia signs investment deals worth SR35bn with foreign firms to strengthen global supply chains    Saudi Arabia unveils updates on Expo 2030 Riyadh master plan at 175th BIE General Assembly Riyadh Expo Development Company established to oversee strategic planning, operations, and legacy development    Riyadh Season draws 8 million visitors in 6 weeks    Saudi FM attends Quadripartite meeting on Sudan in Italy    Gangsters block aid distribution in south Gaza    Russian deserter reveals war secrets of guarding nuclear base    Georgia's new parliament opens first session amid mass protests and boycott    Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies    Cristiano Ronaldo's double powers Al Nassr to 3-1 win over Al Gharafa in AFC Champions League    Al Ahli edges Al Ain 2-1, bolsters perfect start in AFC Champions League Elite    Al-Falih: 1,238 foreign investors obtain premium residency in Saudi Arabia    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Li, Wozniacki fall in Paris
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 28 - 05 - 2014

PARIS — Former champion Li Na, the second-seeded Chinese superstar and Australian Open winner, was sensationally dumped out of the French Open in the first round Tuesday, beaten by a tearful Kristina Mladenovic.
Li, the 2011 champion, went down 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 to the 103rd-ranked blonde Frenchwoman — the Roland Garros junior champion in 2009 — to suffer her first opening round defeat in Paris in eight visits.
The 2hr 06min loss on a windswept and chilly Suzanne Lenglen court saw Li undone by 37 unforced errors. Mladenovic, who was Australian Open mixed doubles champion this year with Daniel Nestor, goes on to face Alison Riske of the United States. “It didn't matter who I was playing I still would have lost. The problem was myself. I threw myself away,” said Li.
It is a familiar scenario for Li who failed to get beyond the fourth round of the six Grand Slams which followed her 2011 Roland Garros breakthrough. “I had no idea in my mind how to play the match. The first match at a major is always tough, the tension is different. You never know what will happen.”
Mladenovic, who was 36 in the world last August, was in tears after her victory, her third over a top 10 player. “It's just incredible,” she said. “I don't have the words to describe what just happened. To beat the world No. 2 in the first round at Roland Garros, it's incredible.”
Li's shock defeat means that both Australian Open champions have been knocked out in the first round after Stan Wawrinka's listless defeat Monday. Wawrinka lost to 41st-ranked Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0.
Ex-world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, the 13th seeded Dane, lost 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-2 to Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer in her first outing since her engagement with superstar golfer Rory McIlroy ended.
“I was not prepared for this, it all came as a bit of a shock. I want to thank everyone for their support and sweet messages. I have to move on from this,” said Wozniacki.
Also making an early exit was Bulgarian men's 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov who lost 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) to giant Croat Ivo Karlovic.
Karlovic fired 22 aces and wasn't broken by Dimitrov who won the Bucharest claycourt title this spring and was a semifinalist at the Rome Masters having seen off the Croat on the way. The 35-year-old Karlovic next faces Austria's Andreas Haider-Maurer.
Spanish fifth seed David Ferrer, last year's runner-up to Rafael Nadal, began his 12th Roland Garros by coasting past Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1.
Britain's Andy Murray, the seventh seeded Wimbledon champion who made the semifinals in 2011, saw off Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, now at 46 in the world and playing his 14th Roland Garros, was beaten 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 by unseeded Argentine Carlos Berlocq.
His fellow Australian Bernard Tomic, now down at 80 in the world, was also beaten as French 12th seed Richard Gasquet claimed his 100th career win on clay with a 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 victory.
German 36-year-old Tommy Haas, the 16th seed, failed in his bid to become the oldest man since Jimmy Connors in 1991 to reach the second round when he was forced to retire with a shoulder injury against Jurgen Zopp of Estonia despite leading 5-2. Spain's 21st seed Nicolas Almagro also hobbled out as a foot injury at 0-5 down to America's Jack Sock brought his tournament to a premature end.
Romanian fourth seed Simona Halep reached the second round with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Russia's Alisa Kleybanova and next plays Heather Watson of Britain.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Russian 27th seed and 2009 champion, beat Georgia's Sofia Shapatava 6-3, 6-1, while 43-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan, a semifinalist in 1995, lost 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 to Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 24th seed.
Ana Ivanovic beat French world No. 43 Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-3, while fellow Serb, sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic saw off Canada's Sharon Fichman 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. — Agencies


Clic here to read the story from its source.