Djokovic crashes out, Nishikori retires, Rafa pushes ahead

Barcelona, April 26

Former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic suffered a surprise second-round exit from the Barcelona Open on Wednesday, when the Serb was beaten 6-2 1-6 6-3 by world No. 140 Martin Klizan. Djokovic, who received a bye in the opening round, has not reached the last eight of a tournament since last year’s Wimbledon and has struggled with a long-term elbow injury.
The 30-year-old lost to Austria’s Dominic Thiem in the last-16 of the Monte Carlo Masters last week and looked far from his best in what was his second career appearance in Barcelona. World No. 1 Rafa Nadal started his quest for an 11th title in Barcelona with a 6-4 6-4 win over his fellow Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena. Kei Nishikori retired during his opening match against Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez after experiencing pain in his right wrist. The 28-year-old withdrew after losing the first set 6-3. — Reuters
‘Tsunami’ of fixing in lower-level tennis: review panel
London: Lower-level tennis has a “tsunami”-like problem with match-fixing, according to a review panel set up to look into allegations of corruption in the sport which published its findings on Wednesday. The Independent Review Panel (IRP) said there was a “very significant” corruption problem at “lower and middle levels of the sport”, and especially in the men’s game. The panel was set up in January 2016 following allegations made by the BBC and Buzzfeed that leading players, including Grand Slam winners, were involved in suspected match-fixing and that evidence had been suppressed. The panel — which spoke to over 100 players and according to the BBC cost $27.9 million to fund — found no evidence to support those allegations. However, the highest level competitions and governing bodies did not escape criticism.