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Björkman bows out:
2008/02/13
The hopes of one of Sweden's top players, Jonas Bjorkman, was dashed by the never-say-die approach of Frenchman Augustin Gennse at the SAA Tennis Open on Wednesday.
The Frenchman beat the fourth seed in one of the enthralling singles games of the day. Gensse took the first set 6-3 and he appeared headed for an easy win when he went up 4-1, but Bjorkman gave a spirited fightback and clawed himself back from the brink of sure defeat to 5-5 in the second set.
Gensse hold his nerve however and won the vital points.
Bjorkman lost it on his serve when he double-faulted to give Gensse the 7-5 win. Gensse said the win was his biggest he has had and he hoped to break into the world top 100. The 24-year-old is currently ranked 249 on the world rankings.
Earlier Eastern Cape hopeful Raven Klaasen, watched by a group of his family members in East London, gave one of his finest displays in the singles, but he fell to the third seed Thomas Johansson, of Sweden, 6-2, 6-4.
The scoreline did not tell the full story as the young local player won a number of fans with his fine play.
Johansson had high praise for Klaasen and said that he should work on his forehand and serve and he "could cause much damage".
In the other singles match, Austrian Stefan Koubek, the second seed, beat Johan Brunstrom of Sweden 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the next round. -- Kariem Hassan