Monteiro upsets Ruud in Sweden; Zverev wins
Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro, ranked 85th in the world, upset World No. 9
Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Nordea Open on Wednesday in Bastad, Sweden.
It was Monteiro’s first win against Norway’s Ruud in four matches. Seeded second, Ruud had more aces (7-2) but forced only one break point and didn’t covert. Monteiro was 3 of 6 on break-point conversions and fired more winners, 32-19.
Croatian qualifier Duje Ajdukovic knocked off eighth-seeded Pavel Kotov of Russia 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-3, and Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena also went three sets to eliminate Kazakhstan qualifier Denis Yevseyev 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Elsewhere: At the Hamburg Open, a lingering knee injury didn’t prevent defending champion Alexander Zverev from cruising past Jesper de Jong 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round in Germany. Playing in his home country, topseeded Zverev has a bone edema and tear in the capsule in his left knee resulting from a fall in a third-round win over Cameron Norrie at Wimbledon. Third-seeded Sebastian Baez of Argentina rallied past Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 7-5, 6-2; fourth-seeded Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina crushed German wild card
Maximilian Marterer
6-0, 6-2 . ... At the Swiss Open Gstaad, top seed
Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece saved all five break points in defeating Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 in the second round in Switzerland . ... At the Infosys Hall of Fame Open, Reilly Opelka fired 19 aces to just one double fault in upsetting top seed
Adrian Mannarino of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round in Newport, Rhode Island.
ETC.
NBA: Sacramento
Kings head coach Mike Brown signed a reported three-year, $30 million contract extension Wednesday, a full month and a half after the deal was first revealed by multiple news outlets. In 202223, Brown was named NBA Coach of the Year after leading the Kings to the playoffs. In two seasons under Brown, the Kings are 94-70 in the regular season . ... The NBA is officially cracking down on flopping, as the league’s board of governors permanently implemented a penalty for the action into the playing rules on Tuesday.
NHL: Veteran defenseman Torey Krug is in danger of missing the 2024-25 season after being diagnosed with pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle, the St. Louis Blues said.
NFL: Louisiana has dropped the underage gambling and computer fraud charges filed against New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte last January, his attorney told ESPN. Boutte now 22, was arrested in Baton Rouge on Jan. 25 on charges related to illegal online wagering while he attended LSU. Authorities alleged that Boutte created a fraudulent online account, using an alias to get around the age requirement, and placed nearly 9,000 bets — including at least 17 wagers on NCAA football games, including six on LSU contests, from 2022-23.
College football: Georgia offensive lineman Kelton Smith Jr. is leaving football because of a preexisting medical condition, the school announced. The school said the redshirt freshman will remain on scholarship, continue his studies and work with the football team in some way.