French fries for Costa

Albert Costa’s honeymoon was well and truly over when he was brought back down to earth at the Swiss Open by a French qualifier in his ...

Albert Costa’s honeymoon was well and truly over when he was brought back down to earth at the Swiss Open by a French qualifier in his first match since winning the French Open crown just over a month ago.

Costa, who got married following his Roland Garros win last month and opted to miss the grasscourt season to go on his honeymoon, barely had time to unpack his baggage as he was sent skidding out of the event 6-4, 6-3 in the first round on Tuesday by Paul-Henri Mathieu. The promising 20-year-old Frenchman, who reached the fourth round at the French Open as a wildcard before falling to Andre Agassi in a five-set thriller, took advantage of Costa’s lack of match practice to gain the upper hand as the Spaniard struggled to find his footing on the slow surface.


Albert Costa…early exit

Costa was aiming to win his third Gstaad title, followingvictories in 1996 and 1999.

Surprise Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian was handed an extra day to recover from his All-England Club heroics before starting his campaign against Romanian Andrei Pavel.

Story continues below this ad

Argentine Nalbandian, who became the first player in the Open era to reach a Wimbledon final on his debut before falling to Lleyton Hewitt on Sunday, was expected to get his Swiss Open bid underway on Tuesday but he was unable to get on court because of fading light. French Open runner-up Juan Carlos Ferrero and third-seeded Swiss Roger Federer had little trouble easing into the second round.

Second seed Ferrero thrashed compatriot Alberto Martin 6-2, 6-2 to set up yet another all-Spanish battle with David Sanchez in the second round. Federer posted a 6-4, 6-3 win over Hicham Arazi of Morocco. Marc Rosset won the all-Swiss clash 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 with George Bastl, conqueror of seven-times champion Pete Sampras in the second round at Wimbledon.

Sources in the LJP (RV) said the names of the remaining 15 candidates would also be announced very soon.

Bihar polls: Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) announces first list of 14 candidates

India59 min ago

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) announced its first list of 14 candidates for the Bihar assembly polls, with its state unit chief Raju Tiwary and leader Hulas Pandey among the nominees. As per the seat-sharing arrangement, LJP (RV) will contest 29 seats, while BJP and JD(U) will contest 101 seats each. The remaining 15 candidates will be announced soon.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS