BUENOS AIRES, Feb 16 — Argentine former world number 20 Jose Acasuso, back from an injury plagued 2010 that led to his ranking dropping to 256, upset Alexandr Dolgopolov in the Buenos Aires Open first round yesterday.

The Ukrainian seventh seed had come into the tournament, third of four on the Latin American claycourt circuit, in good form having reached the Australian Open quarter-finals and the final of last week's Brazil Open.

Acasuso, playing his first match of the year, never let the 22-year-old settle, breaking serve early in both sets to open leads he never relinquished to win 6-2 6-4.

Top seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, the world number 13 fresh from beating Dolgopolov to lift his second Brazil title on Saturday, cruised through 6-1 6-2 against Argentine qualifier Pablo Galdon.

Home favourite David Nalbandian, the third seed, beat Italian Potito Starace 6-4 6-4, but the match of the day was Stanislas Wawrinka's three-set tussle with Carlos Berlocq.

The 28-year-old Argentine gave the third-seeded Swiss world number 15 a run for his money, making the most of his far greater familiarity with the clay surface before Wawrinka won 6-4 3-6 6-3.

Wawrinka said he did not normally play tournaments in February but opted for Buenos Aires, and Acapulco next week, because Switzerland had no Davis Cup commitment this month.

"This was my first match on clay since the French (Open last year)," Wawrinka told reporters, but added the surface was not his main problem against Berlocq.

"My problem was not the court. He was playing very well, then I improved. It is good preparation for the American clay season," he said.

He will play Indian Wells and Miami in March.

The Swiss, whose game was riddled with unforced errors, battled back from 3-0 down in the first set and then faced an uphill struggle at 5-0 down in the second, saving three set points before losing it.

Regularly struggling with length but delighting the crowd with brilliant backhand shots, he was always on top in the decider but was still pushed hard by his feisty opponent. — Reuters 

 

INDIANAPOLIS, Feb 15 — The Miami Heat's 'Big Three' combined to score 90 points and lead their team to a 110-103 victory over the Indiana Pacers yesterday.

The Heat, led by Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh, threatened to run away with the game early but needed a fourth-quarter rally after giving up a 22-point first quarter lead.

Wade scored 22 of his 41 points in the first quarter to help build a 41-19 lead, while James scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and Chris Bosh added 22 points.

The Pacers, however, put together two extended runs in the second quarter to outscore the Heat 35-17 and pull within four points at halftime.

They then managed to build a five-point lead during the third quarter, but faded down the stretch and made just one field goal over the final 4:30.

Roy Hibbert led the Pacers with 18 points while Tyler Hansbrough scored 16 and Paul George scored 14 off the bench. — Reuters