World number one Zhang Ning led defending champions China to a 3-0 win over Germany yesterday to rekindle her rivalry against Mia Audina Tjptawan of the Netherlands in the Uber Cup final.
Athens Olympic champion Zhang shrugged off a slow start to beat European champion Xu Huaiwen 21-17, 21-14 in the opening singles rubber in 33 minutes.
World champion Xie put China two up by breezing past Juliane Schenk 21-17, 21-16, while the world number two duo Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen downed Michaela Peiffer and Sandra Marinello 21-9, 21-4 to finish off the best-of-five contest.
The Netherlands defeated Taiwan 3-0, with Audina beating Cheng Shao-chieh 21-19, 21-17, Judith Meulendiks beating Chien Yu-chin 22-20, 21-17, and Katrina de Wit beating Pai Min-jie 21-16, 14-21, 21-15.
China's head coach, Li Yongbo, was upbeat ahead of tomorrow's clash.
"When I saw Zhang Ning and Xie Xingfang, I know they were under pressure, but I'm sure they will show their real potential in the final."
"In the doubles, Germany couldn't cope with Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen, who didn't need to perform their best today. With these four players, who can beat us?"
Zhang said Audina is a "special rival" since Zhang lost to Audina in the fifth singles match of the 1994 Uber Cup final at Jakarta, where Audina brought her mother country Indonesia's second victory.
Audina said she was relieved that her team defeated Taiwan 3-0 and that she did not need to play a doubles, since she had a bad cold last week.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set