Britain’s Andy Murray reacts after winning his second round match against Croatia’s Borna Coric during their at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 indoor tennis tournament in Paris yesterday. (AFP)

Reuters/Paris


Andy Murray demolished Croatian teenager Borna Coric 6-1 6-2 in the second round of the Paris Masters yesterday to set up a Davis Cup-flavoured clash with Belgium’s David Goffin.
Britain and Belgium meet in the Davis Cup final in Ghent from Nov. 27-29 with world number three Murray and Goffin, who eased past Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic, set to clash in the number ones’ singles rubber.
Although the Davis Cup tie will be played on clay, Murray believes he can pick up some tips from today’s match against Goffin.
“I think so. Any time you spend time on court with opponents you can learn about their game,” the Scot told a news conference.
“It’s obviously good to play against him. But I will obviously, before the tie, watch matches of him playing on clay to learn and understand his game better on that surface.”
Murray needed less than an hour to dismiss the 18-year-old Coric, converting four of his five break points while never allowing his opponent the chance to steal his serve. Earlier, the 16th-seeded Goffin also needed less than an hour to sweep aide Lajovic 6-2 6-2, converting five of eight break points.
The seventh-seeded Rafa Nadal, who has been improving recently as the end of a tough season looms, barely broke sweat in a 6-2 6-2 defeat of Czech Lukas Rosol.
He next faces either South African 11th seed Kevin Anderson or Austrian Dominik Thiem.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori, the sixth seed, survived a barrage of aces to beat France’s Jeremy Chardy 7-6(4) 6-7(6) 6-1, securing a third-round meeting with another Frenchman, Richard Gasquet. Chardy fired 17 aces but it was not enough to unsettle Nishikori, who played better on the key points. The 10th-seeded Gasquet looked solid in a 6-2 7-5 victory against Argentine Leonardo Mayer.
The Paris Masters is the last tournament before the season-ending ATP World Tour finals, which will be played between the eight best players of the season from Nov. 15-22 at the 02 arena in London.
World number one Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Roger Federer, Nadal, Nishikori, Murray, Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer have all qualified.

Injured Petkovic served with double bagel in Zhuhai
Carla Suarez Navarro handed injury-hampered Andrea Petkovic the first 6-0, 6-0 “double bagel” of her top-level career yesterday in the simplest of wins at the WTA Elite
Trophy.
The Spaniard was on court for just 51 minutes against Germany’s Petkovic, who was troubled by a knee problem. Petkovic won only 24 percent of points on her first serve and was broken six times.
Both players looked downcast as they came off the court and Suarez Navarro described it as a “sad” win, praising 24th-ranked Petkovic for not retiring from the match.
“I really appreciate the fight because she was on court all the time,” said the Spaniard, in comments released by the Women’s Tennis Association from the event in Zhuhai in southern China.
“She didn’t retire. She played not only for her—she played also for the fans, for me. You know, not a lot of players in the circuit will stay on court with the situation that Andrea was living today... was maybe a sad win for me.”
Earlier Roberta Vinci beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4, and third seed Karolina Pliskova overcame former world number one Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. The Elite Trophy, which follows last week’s WTA Finals for the top eight women, is a new event featuring 12 players ranked below them and held at a purpose-built facility in
Zhuhai.

‘Supergirl’ Serena chases down phone thief

Serena Williams chased down a would-be telephone thief at a Chinese restaurant that had the 34-year-old American tennis star comparing herself to Supergirl.
The 21-time Grand Slam singles champion detailed her adventure in a Facebook posting complete with her wearing a Supergirl outfit and sending a message for people to channel their inner superhero.
And another message was clear—mess with Serena Williams at your own peril.
“Soooooo yesterday (Tuesday) at dinner the CRAZIEST THING happened to me. I was sitting enjoying some Chinese food and this guy stands next to me,” world number one Williams said.
“And something (I have now dubbed it my SUPERHERO sense) told me to watch him. My phone was sitting in the chair but I just didn’t feel right. “Low and behold, this common petty thief grabbed my phone and swiftly left. I looked at the chair, than shouted ‘Omg that dude took my phone!!’”
“Not thinking I reacted, I jumped up, weaved my way in and out of the restaurant and chased him down. He began to run but I was too fast. I was upon him in a flash!
“In the most menacing yet calm no nonsense voice I could muster I kindly asked him if he ‘accidentally’ took the wrong phone. While he was thinking of the right thing to say and eventually he said ‘Gosh you know what I did! It was so confusing in there. I must have grabbed the wrong phone’.”
The matter left Williams pondering her own super powers.
“Superhero? Maybe? Or HELL YEA!!” Williams said.
“I’ve got the speed the jumps, the power, the body, the seduction, the sex appeal, the strength, the leadership and yet the calm to weather the storm.
“Always listen to your superhero inner voice. Fight for what’s right. Stand for what you believe in! Be a superhero!
“When I got back into the restaurant I received a standing ovation. I was proud. I just showed every man in there I can stand up to bully’s (sted) and other men. It was a win for the ladies! Just because you are a lady don’t be afraid to step up to any challenge and not be a victim but a hero!”
Williams has not played since losing a US Open semi-final to Italy’s Roberta Vinci, costing her a chance at a calendar year Grand Slam.