Costa crashes out in first round at Vienna event

Costa, seeded third in Vienna, has now lost six of his last eight matches, and is just 8-8 since lifting his first grand slam trophy back in early June. The clay-courter will not be giving up without an almighty fight, though. Johansson is certainly gunning hard for a spot in Shanghai and is playing in Lyon, Madrid, Stockholm and Paris to earn the points. On Monday night he recorded a solid 5-7, 7-6, 6-2 victory over France’s Fabrice Santoro in Lyon.

Seles too pulls out

Monica Seles has withdrawn from next week’s Swisscom Challenge in Zurich due to a right foot injury, the WTA said on Tuesday. Sixth-ranked Seles, winner of nine Grand Slam tournaments, joins world Nos. 1 and 2 Serena and Venus Williams in missing the $1.2 million tournament. Anna Kournikova will also have to sit out of this year’s tournament. Additional tests have confirmed the diagnosis that she sprained her left ankle and tore a ligament in Moscow last week.

Wildcard for Kuerten

Brazil’s former world No 1 Gustavo Kuerten will play the inaugural Madrid Masters indoor tournament next week, thanks to a wildcard from organisers. Three times a French Open champion, Kuerten finished 2000 ranked No 1 in the world but he has been plagued by injuries since and now wallows at 40th in the rankings. But after undergoing hip surgery in February, the amiable baseliner hopes his game is getting back on track. ‘‘Last month I won my first title since the operation and this gave me a lot of confidence,’’ Kuerten told the ATP, referring to his win at the Brazil Open.