SHANGHAI, China -- Richard Gasquet was dealt a setback to his chances of qualifying for the elite ATP Finals after a first-round loss to Vasek Pospisil of Canada 6-3, 6-4 in the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday.
Tyson Chandler Jersey . The Frenchman, who played in the year-end championships once before in 2007, sits in ninth place in the standings, a mere 20 points behind Stanislas Wawrinka for the last spot in the eight-man field. Pospisil is having a breakthrough year, reaching his maiden Masters semifinal in Montreal and helping guide Canada to the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time last month. The 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Canadian overpowered Gasquet with his forehand and serve, hitting 16 winners to just two for the Frenchman in the opening set and finishing with 10 aces. "The key was to stay aggressive the whole time, even in the big moments, going for my shots," Pospisil said. "Its a huge win for me." Pospisil was joined in the second round by countryman Milos Raonic, who served 16 aces to defeat Polish qualifier Michal Przysiezny 6-4, 6-4. The 10th-seeded Raonic is making a late-season run at qualifying for the ATP Finals, as well, reaching back-to-back finals in Bangkok and Tokyo the last two weeks. He won the title in Thailand but lost to Juan Martin del Potro in Japan. Hes 10th in the standings for the ATP Finals, trailing Gasquet by less than 300 points. "Ive had two great weeks leading into this one and forced myself and pushed myself to do well this week," he said. Former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt jumped out to 3-0 against Andreas Seppi before the Italian reeled off 10 of the next 11 games to win the match 6-4, 6-2. Seppi will play 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the next round. Hewitt is working his way back up the rankings after five surgeries in recent years and was coming off an upset win over del Potro at the U.S. Open. The Australian said his wrist has been bothering him in recent weeks and hell undergo tests to determine the extent of the injury. "Ive just had a bit of a niggle," he said. Play was disrupted for the second straight day by the remnants of Typhoon Fitow, which made landfall in southern China early Monday and dumped 6 inches (15 centimetres) of rain on Shanghai, the highest single-day total since 1961. Matches in the main stadium were played with the roof closed, while those scheduled for outer courts were moved to an indoor facility so organizers could attempt to finish the first round on Tuesday. In other matches, 12th-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan defeated Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-4, Tommy Robredo of Spain beat countryman Albert Montanes 6-4, 6-1, Benoit Paire of France upset 13th-seeded countryman Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-3, and Frenchman Jeremy Chardy ousted Australian Bernard Tomic 7-5, 6-2. Rafael Nadal, who reclaimed the No. 1 ranking this week, and Novak Djokovic are scheduled to play their opening matches on Wednesday.
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Penny Hardaway Suns Jersey . Two weeks after the Kings became NHL royalty for a second time; sitting on top of the hockey world, Stanley Cup in hands. PARIS -- Finnish driver Heikki Kovalainen will replace Kimi Raikkonen for Lotus in the final two Formula One races of the season. Raikkonen will miss the United States Grand Prix and Brazilian GP to undergo back surgery. He is joining Ferrari next season. The 32-year-old Kovalainen has raced in 109 GPs for Renault, McLaren and Caterham, securing one win at the Hungarian GP in 2008 and three other podium finishes. He has been a test driver for Caterham this year. "Jumping into a car so late in the year when you have not been competing in the races all season will be a challenge, but I know the team at Enstone well so I have no concerns about getting up to speed," Kovalainen said. "This is a great opportunity for me, so I would like to thank Tony Fernandes and Caterham F1 team for allowing me to take advantage of it." His appointment comes after seven-time champion Michael Schumacher turned down Lotus offer to drive in the final two races. "We had to move quickly following the news of Kimiis non-participation in the final two races of this season, and we found ourselves facing a difficult decision," Lotus team principal Eric Boullier said.
Eric Bledsoe Jersey. "On the one hand we had our reserve driver Davide Valsecchi -- who is a talented young driver that has shown a great deal of promise -- and on the other we had the opportunity to bring in a seasoned Formula 1 competitor." Before making his decision to have surgery, the 34-year-old Raikkonen had criticized the team for not paying his salary this season and threatened to pull out of the final two races in protest. He had to be persuaded to race in Abu Dhabi but skipped his media obligations on the Thursday before the race. He pulled out of the race on the first lap because of suspension damage after a minor collision. Before that, tensions had surfaced within the team at the Indian GP. Raikkonen was upset when he was ordered by the teams trackside operations director, Alan Permane, not to hold up teammate Romain Grosjean.
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