Rising Taiwanese tennis star Yang Tsung-hua (楊宗樺) yesterday lost in the final of the boys' singles competition at the Australian Open to Bernard Tomic of Australia. Fifth seed Tomic beat the 16-year-old 10th seed Yang in three sets, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0.
Despite playing in front of an Aussie crowd rooting for Tomic, Yang started impressively, holding his nerve to claim the first set.
A closely fought second set went to a tiebreak. Facing three set points at 6-3 down, Yang pulled the score back to 6-5 in Tomic's favor before conceding the set.
Having been within a few points of winning the championship, the wheels fell off for the Taiwanese in the deciding set, and Tomic wrapped up the victory in convincing style.
Despite his defeat yesterday, the ranking points Yang gained during his impressive run to the final mean that his junior ranking will receive a substantial boost.
Yang said he was disappointed to have lost yesterday, but that "there was not a big difference between us."
The 16-year-old said he needed to work on his serve.
"My serve is fast enough, but not consistent enough. My second serve is quite a bit slower and I'm not able to keep up the pressure on my opponent," he said.
Yang is also determined to work on his stamina, saying he felt tired after progressing so far in both singles and doubles competitions.
On Friday, Yang teamed up with fellow Taiwanese Hsieh Cheng-peng (
Yang is due to arrive in Taiwan this afternoon and will return to Hsinchu to celebrate with his family before heading to Kaohsiung to prepare for a Davis Cup tie against Australia next month.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LUNG PO-AN
Also see: Sharapova wins third Grand Slam
National Taiwan University (NTU) yesterday said it disqualified a person from an entrance examination for using AI smart glasses to cheat, along with two others for making untruthful statements in their curriculum vitae. The three applicants were given null scores, Taiwan’s highest-ranked university said, calling on prospective students to be honest in the admissions process. NTU registrar Lee Hung-sen (李宏森) said that the cheating applicant wore a hat and thick-rimmed glasses to the second written exam for medical school, claiming that they felt cold. Suspicions were aroused when the applicant stared oddly at the test for long stretches while steadily bringing the paper
MILITARY ISSUES: A partisan divide between the Cabinet and the legislature ‘raised questions about Taiwan’s ability to adequately fund its defense,’ the report said Taiwan’s defense budget, military personnel numbers and resilience are challenges to its ability to meet national defense goals, the US Naval Institute said in a report published on Tuesday. In response to the perception of a growing military threat posed by China, Taiwan has embarked on an effort to enhance the capabilities needed to deter an attempt by Beijing to annex the nation by force, the institute said in the US Congressional Research Service report, titled Taiwan: Defense and Military Issues, which was filed on Thursday last week. Taiwan’s defense budget increased by about 7.5 percent from 2024 to last year, it
66 FIGHTER JETS: The aircraft is likely undergoing preparations for its transfer to Taiwan — a significant step forward in the nation’s modernization program, a lawmaker said The first of Taiwan’s order of F-16V Block 70 aircraft has been sighted in Texas ahead of delivery, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said. Taiwan’s first F-16V Block 70 two-seat aircraft, tail number 6831, was seen flying from Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Greenville, South Carolina, to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas, Wang wrote on Facebook yesterday. The plane is likely undergoing preparations for its transfer to Taiwan, marking a significant step forward in the Republic of China Air Force’s modernization program, Wang said, citing military analysts. The F-16V Block 70 is a new-build version
NOT JUST NUMBERS: What matters to intelligence work is crucial, reliable information, so even a few credible leads can be highly valuable to national security, a legislator said The National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday said it has finished the establishment of an information-reporting channel for Chinese nationals, the aim of which is to broaden intelligence gathering on China’s political, military, economic and social developments. Chinese nationals can submit information on the Web page, https://report.nsb.gov.tw, the NSB said in a statement. The move aims to expand the bureau’s diverse intelligence sources and is pursuant to the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), it said, adding that it referenced practices adopted by intelligence agencies in the US, the UK and Israel. An increasing number of people are approaching Taiwanese agencies to provide information, as
RSS