AFP/Lisbon


Altitude-averse second seed Milos Raonic yesterday found himself perched high up on the mast of a training vessel as the Canadian took his mind temporarily off of claycourt tennis prior to starting the Portugal Open.
The youngest member of the world top 10 at age 23, who stands 10-4 this season, was helping to promote the 2015 Lisbon stop of the Volvo Ocean race. The round-the-world challenge will set off from Spain and visit South Africa, United Arab Emirates, China, New Zealand, Brazil, United States, Portugal, France and Sweden, spanning 71,745 kms en route.
It begins October 4 in Alicante, Spain, and finishes June 27, 2015, in Gothenburg, the Swedish home of Volvo. Raonic tweeted his bemused reaction to an interview conducted high above the boat’s desk.
“A selfie 100 feet in the air on the mast of a sailboat and I don’t like heights! That was fun,” he said. Raonic will start his second campaign at the Jamor Sports Complex in the second round after a bye, playing tomorrow against the winner from Aleksandr Nedovyesov of the Ukraine or Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas.
He was forced to quit a 2011 Portugal semi-final against Spain’s Fernando Gonzalez due to back pain. Raonic has reached the quarter-finals of all three Masters 1000 events so far this season, in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo, where he lost to eventual champion and 2013 Oeiras champion  Stanislas Wawrinka.
With opening-day qualifying rounds still wrapping up on both the men’s and women’s sides of the draws, 2009 champion Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium reached the second round over Ursula Radwanska 6-4, 7-5.
Oeiras five years ago was the first of the 58th-ranked Wickmayer’s three career titles. The Belgian recovered from 3-5 down in the second set to earn her win in just under two hours over Radwanska, 73rd-ranked younger sister of third-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska. Serbian Bojana Jovanovski beat Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in just over two and a quarter-hours.

Roland Garros to stage Davis Cup semi
France will play their Davis Cup semi-final against holders Czech Republic at Roland Garros, home of the French Open, the French Tennis Federation said yesterday. France, who beat Germany in the quarter-finals, have opted to play the Sept 12-14 tie on the Philippe Chatrier clay court at Roland Garros for the first time since 2002. The Roland Garros stadium was built in 1928 to host the Davis Cup final between France and the United States. Since France beat the U.S. in the 2002 semi-final, the Fed Cup team has also played at Roland Garros, losing against Russia in the 2005 final. Switzerland and Italy are contesting the other semi-final.

Jankovic at seventh in world rankings
Former number one Jelena Jankovic is up to seventh in the world rankings following her run into the semi-finals of the WTA Stuttgart tournament last week. She moves ahead of Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the only change within a top 10 still dominated by Serena Williams. Stuttgart winner Maria Sharapova stays at number nine as she has won the German claycourt title for the last three years and thus gains no extra points for her victory.