Kittipong curses his luck again

A magic incantation failed to help Kittipong Wachira-manowong yesterday as the Thai No 2 lost to his idol Robin Haase of the Netherlands on a quiet opening to the US$644,000 PTT Thailand Open.
Kittipong received the spell from his fellow countryman Danai Udomchoke but the magic was no match for the world No 42, who dealt him a 6-3 7-6 (7-1) defeat in one hour and 23 minutes. The 20-year-old Thai also prayed for good luck from sacred items around the Impact Arena venue in Muang Thong Thani. None of his prayers were answered.
“Danai gave me [the spell] in the morning and maybe I didn’t pronounce the words correctly or something,’’ the Thai joked. “[Haase played well in the second set tie-break and it all came down to experience. He is a high-ranked player and has more experience,’’ said the local wild-card holder.
Kittipong has now played seeded opponents in each of his three Thailand Open appearances, and never moved beyond the first round. Despite the disappointment, he was content with his performance yesterday.
“Personally I was happy with the way I played. I hit the ball well, went for my shots and attacked at the net. I just need more experience and to strengthen my fitness,’’ said the Thai, ranked a lowly No 523.
Haase was surprised to learn that Kittipong had picked him as his idol, especially after their practice session on Saturday.
“Maybe he did not know me well, and you cannot judge from just from one practice. I just didn’t serve well on that day,’’ said the seventh-seed, who let slip a 2-0 lead in the second set before regaining his composure in the tie-break. He was coughing from time to time during the post match interview but insisted it was not serious.
“I was sick before I arrived, and here people love air-conditioning, but I don’t. But I’m getting better now and I’m okay,’’ said the Dutchman, on his first visit to Bangkok.
In another first-round match, Santiago Giraldo of Colombia ousted Dudi Sela of Israel 6-2 6-3.
Meanwhile final qualifying saw Greg Jones of Australia upset top seed and former world No 5 Rainer Schuettler of Germany 6-3 6-2, while second seed Go Soeda of Japan beat Stephane Bohli of Switzerland 6-4 0-6 7-5, third seed Simone Bolelli of Italy beat Amir Weintraub of Israel 6-4 6-2 and eighth-seed Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland toppled Illya Marchenko of Ukraine 7-6 (9-7) 6-0.
Top seed Andy Murray of Britain and second seed Gael Monfils of France arrived in Bangkok from Europe yesterday. Both have first-round byes.