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Dua pemain AS layak ke pusingan utama


EVANS membalas pukulan lawannya dari Korea, Woong Sun Jun pada pusingan kelayakan Kejohanan Tenis Terbuka Malaysia Proton di Stadium Putra semalam.

DUA pemain Amerika Syarikat, Brendan Evans dan Michael Yani serta pemain Kazakhstan, Mikhail Kukushkin dan Rohan Bopanna dari India layak ke undian utama Kejohanan Tenis Terbuka Malaysia Proton selepas melepasi pusingan kelayakan di Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil semalam.

Pada perlawanan kelayakan pusingan kedua itu, Evans, pemain yang menduduki ranking ke-118 dunia dipaksa bekerja keras oleh pemain Korea Selatan, Jun Woong-Sun sebelum menang 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 dalam saingan selama dua jam itu.

"Perlawanan tiga set itu sangat sukar kerana Woong-Sun seorang pemain yang hebat dan berbakat.

"Kami pernah bertemu beberapa kali pada saingan peringkat remaja dan saya pernah mengalahkannya," kata Evans.

Pemain berusia 23 tahun itu berkata beliau tidak mempunyai sebarang sasaran tetapi berharap untuk layak ke pusingan kedua kejohanan ini.

"Jika dilihat, semua lawan dalam undian utama hebat-hebat belaka. Oleh itu, saya hanya mahu bermain seperti biasa tanpa tekanan," kata Evans.

Sebelum ini, Evans menundukkan pemain negara, Mohammed Faizal Othman 6-0, 6-0 pada perlawanan kelayakan pusingan pertama.

Dalam pusingan pertama undian utama hari ini, Evans akan bertemu dengan rakan senegara, Yani yang menundukkan seorang lagi pemain Amerika Syarikat, Scott Lipsky 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 dalam satu lagi perlawanan kelayakan pusingan kedua semalam.

Sementara itu, Kukushkin layak ke undian utama selepas menundukkan pemain Pakistan, Aisam-UI-Haq Qureshi 7-6 (tie break 7-3), 6-2.

Bopanna pula menundukkan pemain Poland, Mariusz Fyrstenberg 7-5, 6-1 menjadikan beliau satu-satunya pemain Asia yang layak ke undian utama kejohanan.

Tumpuan utama pada pusingan pertama hari ini adalah aksi antara pemain No. 13 dunia (pilihan kelima) Gael Monfils dari Perancis dengan Denis Istomin dari Uzbekistan (pilihan keenam), Tomas Berdych dari Republik Czech dengan Igor Kunitsyn dari Rusia.

David Ferrer dari Sepanyol akan menentang Mikhail Youzhny dari Rusia sementara Lleyton Hewitt dari Australia akan menentang Joachim Johansson dari Sweden.

Sementara itu, empat pilihan utama kejohanan mendapat bye dalam pusingan pertama iaitu pemain No. 8 dunia, Nikolay Davydenko (Rusia), pemain No. 9 dunia, Fernando Verdasco (Sepanyol), pemain No. 11 dunia, Robin Soderling (Sweden) serta pemain No. 12 dunia, Fernando Gonzales (Chile).

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