Frenchman Jeremy Chardy won his first career ATP Tour title on Sunday, beating Victor Hanescu 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Mercedes Cup final in Stuttgart, Germany.
Chardy swigged down a bottle of champagne at the victory ceremony and then took a brief spin behind the wheel of a new Mercedes E350, a prize given by the sponsor.
It was Chardy’s second career final. He finished as runner-up in Johannesburg in February.
In Bastad, Sweden, Robin Soderling beat Juan Monaco 6-3, 7-6 (4) to win the Swedish Open for his fourth ATP Tour title and first on clay.
The second-seeded Soderling became the first Swedish winner of the tournament since 2000 when his coach, Magnus Norman, won the title.
Austrian Sybille Bammer has beaten top-seeded Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (4), 6-2 to win the Prague Open in Czech Republic.
Flavia Pennetta routed Sara Errani 6-1, 6-2 to win the Palermo Open in an all-Italian final.
It was Pennetta’s seventh career title, with six of the seven having come on clay.
(Via AP; Images Yahoo! Sports)
I'm not sure if it's only me. I thought Roger Federer look pale. Hope he's not sick or experiencing fatigue still.
Last night, Federer returned from a 5-week break to beat Radek Stepanek 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the second round of the Madrid Masters.“Happy to be back on tour,” Federer said.
“Happy with this first round. it was always going to be tough against Radek and he played a great second set.”
Federer, playing his first ATP event since winning the U.S. Open last month, will face Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. “I’m excited. He’s had a rocky season with injuries this year, so I feel for the guy,” Federer said of his French opponent.
“He’s probably one of the guys you wanna be playing out there.”
In an earlier match, Novak Djokovic advanced after Victor Hanescu retired because of an apparent groin injury while trailing 6-7 (8), 7-6 (8), 3-1. “It’s a big relief to win … this is a big boost up for upcoming matches,” Djokovic said.
“He used his biggest weapon which was his serve. I couldn’t find any rhythm in return, so he used that wisely.”
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal pulled out of doubles with Carlos Moya on Tuesday because of a slight upper leg injury. “Every match is important, including doubles, but I’ve got priorities,” said Nadal, who will face Richard Gasquet of France in singles tonight.
“You can’t win everything.”
American qualifier Robby Ginepri had the biggest upset of the day, beating fifth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Andy Roddick had little trouble getting past Spain’s Tommy Robredo, 6-3, 6-4.
The 8th-ranked American’s booming serve was never seriously challenged by Robredo and Roddick used breaks in each of the sets to pace out his win.
David Nalbandian won his sixth straight match by defeating Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1.
Updates:
6th seed Ferrer suffered a shock defeat to fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in straight sets, recording a 6-4 7-6 triumph.
There will be an all-Argentinean clash in the next round when Nalbandian will meet his Davis Cup team-mate Juan Martin del Potro, who was 6-4 6-2 ahead when his Finnish opponent, Jarrko Nieminen, retired.
(Via AP, Images via Yahoo! Sport)
Chardy swigged down a bottle of champagne at the victory ceremony and then took a brief spin behind the wheel of a new Mercedes E350, a prize given by the sponsor. 
In Bastad, Sweden, Robin Soderling beat Juan Monaco 6-3, 7-6 (4) to win the Swedish Open for his fourth ATP Tour title and first on clay. 
Austrian Sybille Bammer has beaten top-seeded Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (4), 6-2 to win the Prague Open in Czech Republic.
Flavia Pennetta routed Sara Errani 6-1, 6-2 to win the Palermo Open in an all-Italian final.
