Share

Anderson wins in Mexico

Acapulco - First-seeded David Ferrer advanced to the second round of the Mexican Open with a convincing win over Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin while American and third-seeded John Isner became the first major casualty of the tournament, losing 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5) to Croatia's Ivo Karlovic on Tuesday.

Ferrer, who is trying to win on Mexican soil for the fourth time in his career, defeated Kukushkin 6-2, 6-3 and will play Spanish compatriot Feliciano Lopez in the round of 16.

"I*m not thinking about the final, I'm only in the second round", Ferrer said. "Now I'm only thinking about playing my best tennis against Feliciano Lopez, he's a good player I need to give my best to beat him".

Ferrer, who now has a 4-0 record against Kukushkin, is coming off an impressive run in the past two weeks of the ATP tour, winning the Buenos Aires tournament and reaching the semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro last week.

"Playing in Buenos Aires was not in my plans", said Ferrer who replaced his countryman Rafael Nadal in Argentina. "I'm tired, but I will not be making any excuses, I need to take a rest now and get well for the rest of the tournament".

Karlovic served 15 aces to Isner fired eight in a match between two of the game's biggest servers.

"I'm very disappointed," a visibly upset Isner said after the match. "I wanted to do well in here, is a good surface for me, but I played against a guy who played well against me".

The 2.11m (6-foot-11) Karlovic now has a 3-2 career record against the 2.08m (6-foot-10) Isner, who's ranked 13th in the world.

Joao Sousa of Portugal came back to defeat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 to advance to a second-round encounter against the winner of the later match between Andy Murray and Pablo Andujar.

South Africa's Kevin Anderson downed Stephane Robert of France 6-2, 7-6 (9/7) and will next play America's Sam Querrey. Also, Alexandr Dolgopolov, from the Ukraine, beat Canada's Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-2 and seventh-seeded Ernests Gulbis had a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Taiwan's Yen-Hsun Lu.

Latvia's Gulbis won his fifth career title last week in Marsella.

Results from day 2 of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel on Tuesday

Men's singles

1st round

David Ferrer (ESP x1) bt Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 6-2, 6-3

Feliciano Lopez (ESP) bt Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 6-4, 6-2

Kevin Anderson (RSA x5) bt Stéphane Robert (FRA) 6-2, 7-6 (9/7)

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) bt John Isner (USA x3) 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5)

Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr. (UKR) bt Vasek Pospisil (CAN x8) 6-2, 6-2

Ernests Gulbis (LAT x7) bt Lu Yen-Hsun (TPE) 6-1, 6-1

David Goffin (BEL) bt Lukasz Kubot (POL) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4

Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) bt Miguel Ángel Reyes (MEX) 6-2, 6-4

Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x4) bt Marinko Matosevic (AUS) 7-5, 6-1

Gilles Simon (FRA x6) bt Tim Smyczek (USA) 6-1, 6-2

Donald Young (USA) bt Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 6-3, 6-3

João Sousa (POR) bt Adrian Mannarino (FRA) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1473 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2251 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE