Kvitova, Bouchard bow out in Cincinnati

<a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/14/599109header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/14/599109header.jpg" /></a>Wimbledon finalists Petra Kvitova and Eugenie Bouchard continued their poor form since SW19, losing at the Western and Southern Open.<br /> <br /> Kvitova beat Bouchard for her second All England Club title in July but between them they have won one match of five since as they stumble into the US Open later in August.<br /> <br /> World number four Kvitova, of the Czech Republic, was beaten by Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 6-2 7-6 (7-2) in their second-round affair in Cincinnati.<br /> <br /> The third seed lost serve five times throughout, including the opening game of the match, as Svitolina took control early.<br /> <br /> Kvitova jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second set but then trailed 5-4 as Svitolina served for the match.<br /> <br /> The pair would exchange three consecutive breaks, with Svitolina twice failing to serve it out, before the world number 39 won all four points on her serve in the tie-break to cause the upset.<br /> <br /> Canada's Bouchard, the seventh seed at the WTA Premier hard-court tournament, was bundled out by in-form Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.<br /> <br /> Kuznetsova, a two-time major winner, won through 6-4 3-6 6-2, with Bouchard's losing streak extending to three matches.<br /> <br /> World number one Serena Williams was one of eight seeds to progress to the last 16 on Wednesday, with the American beating Sam Stosur for the second time in as many tournaments.<br /> <br /> Williams, the top seed in Ohio, thrashed Stosur in Montreal but could not break the Australian's serve this time around as she posted a 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (9-7) triumph.<br /> <br /> Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska eased past Japan's Kurumi Nara 6-2 6-2, while German sixth seed Angelique Kerber had a surprisingly straightforward win over fellow lefty Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-4 6-1.<br /> <br /> Serbian seeds Jelena Jankovic (eighth) and Ana Ivanovic (ninth) both advanced in straight sets, Jankovic downing German qualifier Annika Beck 6-1 7-6 (7-0), while Ivanovic thrashed American wildcard Christina McHale 6-4 6-0.<br /> <br /> Italian 13th seed Flavia Pennetta dismissed American youngster and qualifier Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-3, while Spanish baseliner and 15th seed Carla Suarez Navarro beat French qualifier Pauline Parmentier 6-3 7-5.<br /> <br /> Wimbledon semi-finalist Lucie Safarova continued her impressive form, the 16th seed comfortably surpassing Kazakh qualifier Zarina Diyas 6-4 6-2.<br /> <br /> Germany's Sabine Lisicki ousted 14th seed Sara Errani of Italy 6-4 2-6 7-6 (7-2) in a near three-hour battle.<br /> <br /> Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova accounted for Italian qualifier Karin Knapp 6-1 6-3, not before the Russian saved 11 of 13 break points faced.<br /> <br /> American Sloane Stephens broke opponent Barbora Zahlavova Strycova's serve five times in succession from late in the first set, to run out a 7-5 6-1 winner over the Czech.

All England Club Eugenie Bouchard Petra Kvitova US Open Western Kvitova, Bouchard bow out in Cincinnati

Wimbledon finalists Petra Kvitova and Eugenie Bouchard continued their poor form since SW19, losing at the Western and Southern Open. Kvitova beat Bouchard for her second All England Club title in July but between them they have won one match of five…

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Federer reaches Masters milestone, Berdych beaten

Tomas Berdych was the highest profile casualty at the Western and Southern Open on Wednesday, falling to Lu Yen-Hsun.<br /> <a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/14/599123header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/14/599123header.jpg" /></a><br /> It was the Chinese Taipei man's first win over Berdych in four career meetings, all of which have been played on hard courts.<br /> <br /> Lu prevailed 3-6 6-3 6-4 over the Czech fourth seed at the ATP 1000 event, the world number 43 reversing his loss to Berdych at the Rogers Cup in Toronto earlier in August.<br /> <br /> Other seeds to crash out in Ohio included Grigor Dimitrov (seven), Ernests Gulbis (nine) and Roberto Bautista Agut (13), with big names Roger Federer and Andy Murray safely through to the last 16.<br /> <br /> Swiss second seed Federer won his 300th career match at a Masters-level tournament, when he saw off Canada's Vasek Pospisil 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-2.<br /> <br /> Eighth seed Andy Murray had less trouble getting past Portugal's Joao Sousa, the Briton a 6-3 6-3 winner.<br /> <br /> Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic downed American wildcard Robby Ginepri 6-2 6-2, while sixth seed David Ferrer of Spain endured an almighty struggle to beat German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4).<br /> <br /> Bulgaria's Dimitrov was outgunned by Poland's Jerzy Janowicz 6-4 3-6 6-3, while Latvian Gulbis was no match for American wildcard Steve Johnson 6-4 6-4.<br /> <br /> Frenchman Gael Monfils dumped out Spaniard Bautista Agut 6-4 6-1.<br /> <br /> American number one and 11th seed John Isner progressed with a 6-3 7-6 (7-1) win over Australian qualifier Marinko Matosevic.<br /> <br /> Matosevic's compatriot Lleyton Hewitt joined him in a second-round exit, the veteran beaten by Italian 15th seed Fabio Fognini 6-1 6-4.<br /> <br /> Spanish 16th seed Tommy Robredo dispatched of American wildcard Sam Querrey 6-2 6-4, while Marin Cilic - the 14th seed from Croatia - advanced past Spain's Fernando Verdasco in a break-free contest 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5).<br /> <br /> France's Julien Benneteau saw off British qualifier James Ward 6-2 6-2, and Russia's Mikhail Youzhny defeated Italy's Andreas Seppi 6-3 6-4.

Lu Yen-Hsun news sports tennis Tomas Berdych Western Federer reaches Masters milestone, Berdych beaten

Tomas Berdych was the highest profile casualty at the Western and Southern Open on Wednesday, falling to Lu Yen-Hsun. It was the Chinese Taipei man's first win over Berdych in four career meetings, all of which have been played on hard courts. Lu pre…

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Tomic handed US Open wildcard

<a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/14/599009header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Tomic handed US Open wildcard" border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/14/599009header.jpg" title="Tomic handed US Open wildcard" /></a>Bernard Tomic received a wildcard into the US Open main draw, starting later in August.<br /> <br /> The Australian, 21, claimed his second career ATP World Tour title when he won a hard-court event in Bogota in July, after also receiving a wildcard into the draw there.<br /> <br /> Tomic is ranked 70th as it stands, but was outside the automatic entry spots when the cut off was made weeks out from the major at Flushing Meadows.<br /> <br /> Since his triumph in Colombia, Tomic has just one tour-level match win to his name after losing to Denis Istomin in Washington, Ivo Karlovic in Toronto and Gilles Simon in Cincinnati.<br /> <br /> Tomic received the wildcard as part of Tennis Australia's reciprocal agreement with the United States Tennis Association.<br /> <br /> The result of another reciprocal deal saw France's Michael Llodra handed a wildcard, the 34-year-old set for his 11th US Open appearance.<br /> <br /> The remaining wildcards all went the way of American talent, with Ryan Harrison, Tim Smyczek, Noah Rubin, Jared Donaldson, Marcos Giron and Wayne Odesnik.<br /> <br /> Smyczek is the highest ranked of that group at number 92 in the world, while Harrison (164th) and Odesnik (184th) reside in the top 200.<br /> <br /> Giron, 21, captured the National Collegiate Athletic Association tennis title in 2014 to earn his place in New York, while teenagers Noah Rubin - the under-18s national champion - and Jared Donaldson are also in the draw.

ATP World Tour Bernard Tomic news sports tennis US Open wildcard Tomic handed US Open wildcard

Bernard Tomic received a wildcard into the US Open main draw, starting later in August. The Australian, 21, claimed his second career ATP World Tour title when he won a hard-court event in Bogota in July, after also receiving a wildcard into the draw…

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Cook certain Broad injury of no concern

<a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/cricket/2014/8/14/599509header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Cook certain Broad injury of no concern" border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/cricket/2014/8/14/599509header.jpg" title="Cook certain Broad injury of no concern" /></a>England captain Alastair Cook is certain that Stuart Broad's broken nose will not be an issue during the fifth Test with India.<br /> <br /> England go into the final Test with a 2-1 lead over India, something that looked very unlikely when the tourists edged ahead in mid-July.<br /> <br /> The two sides drew the first Test and the second saw India win by 95 runs at Lord's, with Cook coming under immense criticism in the wake of the defeat.<br /> <br /> England have battled back and will win the series should they avoid a loss when the fifth Test starts on Friday.<br /> <br /> Cook has been given a boost on the eve of the clincher as Broad, who suffered a broken nose when edging a Varun Aaron delivery at Old Trafford on Saturday, was back in training on Thursday and looks certain to feature at The Oval.<br /> <br /> He told Sky Sports News: "We think Stuart will be absolutely fine.<br /> <br /> "We will wait until [Friday] morning in case something unusual happens overnight, but we are not expecting anything like that at all.<br /> <br /> "It is great news Broady has come through that blow, he likes playing in big games and this is a big game.<br /> <br /> "He batted this morning and he bowled six or seven overs and didn't get any pain from it. So we are expecting him to be absolutely fine.<br /> <br /> "I'm not sure if he will wear a mask, whether for batting or bowling, but I don't think it will affect his performance at all

Alastair Cook Cricket India New England news sports Cook certain Broad injury of no concern

England captain Alastair Cook is certain that Stuart Broad's broken nose will not be an issue during the fifth Test with India. England go into the final Test with a 2-1 lead over India, something that looked very unlikely when the tourists edged ahe…

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Jayawardene falls cheaply as Sri Lanka collapse

<a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/cricket/2014/8/14/599561header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/cricket/2014/8/14/599561header.jpg" /></a>Mahela Jayawardene failed with the bat in his final Test as a last-session flurry helped Pakistan take control on day one against Sri Lanka.<br /> <br /> Jayawardene will bring the curtain down on a glittering career in the longest format of the game, which has yielded 34 centuries, upon the completion of the two-match series - which Sri Lanka lead 1-0.<br /> <br /> The 37-year-old fell for just four shortly after tea at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo as the hosts lost six wickets in the last session to reach 261-8 at stumps on Thursday.<br /> <br /> Junaid Khan (4-69) and Wahab Riaz (3-66) did the majority of the damage with the ball for Pakistan, who had initially been up against it as Upul Tharanga (92) made the most of Angelo Mathews' decision to bat after winning the toss.<br /> <br /> Tharanga and opening partner Kaushal Silva (41) were not out at lunch, but the latter was first to fall when he edged Junaid behind.<br /> <br /> Kumar Sangakkara (22) was Sri Lanka's only other victim before tea when he was bowled by Riaz and that brought Jayawardene to the crease in front an expectant home crowd.<br /> <br /> However, the prolific right-hander faced just 16 deliveries before Saeed Ajmal got some sharp turn from outside off stump and trapped him leg before.<br /> <br /> Tharanga, whose knock included 12 boundaries, was dismissed by Riaz just eight runs shy of his century and the wickets continued to fall.<br /> <br /> Mathews (39) put on 38 and 34 with Lahiru Thirimanne (20) and Niroshan Dickwella (24) respectively, but both of his partners were dismissed by Junaid.<br /> <br /> Dilruwan Perera then went for a duck and Pakistan rounded off an excellent final session when Mathews edged Riaz behind to get the decision overturned with a review just before the close.<br /> <br /> The tourists will now look to quickly dispatch the remainder of the tail before attempting to build a first-innings lead on day two.

Cricket Mahela Jayawardene news news sports Pakistan Sri Lanka Jayawardene falls cheaply as Sri Lanka collapse

Mahela Jayawardene failed with the bat in his final Test as a last-session flurry helped Pakistan take control on day one against Sri Lanka. Jayawardene will bring the curtain down on a glittering career in the longest format of the game, which has y…

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