Phelps 2nd in 200 medley final

Michael Phelps was second in the 200m medley final at the short-course World Cup in Stockholm as he continued to struggle to meet expectations in the old-style suit that will become standard next year. Phelps clocked 1 minute 53.93 seconds, more than two seconds behind South Africa’s Darian Townsend, who won in 1:51.79.

Cilic to defend Chennai title

Croatian Marin Cilic, who defeated Indian No 1 Somdev Devvarman in the final of the 2009 Chennai Open, will return to the city in 2010 to defend his title. Confirming his participation on Thursday, Cilic said, “It will be interesting to test my hardcourt skills again against some top players of the world, and I expect a very strong line-up in the event. It will be fantastic to defend my title”. The other player to confirm participation was Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka.

Somdev, Prakash out

Somdev Devvarman’s chances of breaking into the top 100 by the end of this season suffered a jolt after he went down in the first round of the ATP Challenger event in Knoxville, United States. Sixth seed Devvarmlost 7-6 (8) 6-3 to unseeded Croat Roko Karanusic in the opening round. Prakash Amritraj lost 6-3 6-2 to Izak Van der Merwe in the first round. In the doubles, Devvarman and Purav Raja beat Cory Parry and Todd Paul 6-4 7-6(3).

Jwala loses in both categories

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa suffered a 21-9 21-10 defeat to third seed Chinese Jing Du and Yang Yu at the Hong Kong Super Series. Jwala and V Diju lost to Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg 29-27 13-21 18-21 in mixed doubles. In men’s doubles, Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas lost to Alven Yulianto Chandra and Hendra Aprida Gunawan 17-21 21-17 13-21.

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