Paradorn slips up on clay

[TENNIS] Sixth-seeded Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand squandered a 3-0 lead in the second set to crash out in the opening round of the BMW Open in Munich yesterday.
The world ranked No 36 Thai lost the opening set 6-4 to Juan Monaco of Argentina, but produced an early break in the second set to lead 3-0. However, he failed to maintain the advantage and lost the second set 6-4, handing the match to his 110th-ranked opponent. It was a rematch between the two who met in the second round in this tournament last year when the Argentine edged out the Thai in three sets. Paradorn has now lost all of his first round matches on clay this year. He made early exits in Monte Carlo and Barcelona on his way to Germany. In the doubles, Paradorn teams up with France's Florent Serra and will meet Germans Michael Kohlmann and Rainer Schuettler in the first round. In Casablanca, Morocco, Italy's Daniele Bracciali won his first ATP tour title by claiming the Casablanca Open clay court event on Sunday, beating Chilean top seed Nicolas Massu 6-1 6-4 in the final. "This win gives me a lot of confidence for the future," said the seventh seeded Italian. "It's great to win a tournament like Casablanca, this doesn't happen to me every day. "I expected a tough match and I'm happy that I got through and won my first title. During this week I started playing better and better and the final was a great day for me. Maybe the most beautiful day in my career."
|