Favorites India and second seeds Taiwan will meet in the Asian Hopman Cup final after easy victories in their last league outings yesterday.
India and Taiwan scored 3-0 wins over Japan and Thailand, respectively, to top their three-team groups to gain places in today's final.
The winner of the inaugural tournament will get a direct entry for the main Hopman Cup to be played in Australia next January.
In group B, Taiwan's Hwang I-hsuan, ranked 316 in the world drubbed her opponent Nudnida Lauangnam, who is ranked five places lower, 6-2, 6-1. Ti Chen ranked 310 won the men's singles 6-1, 6-4 against Weerapat Doakmaiklee ranked more than 500 places lower.
The Taiwanese pair, who scored an easy 3-0 win over the Philippines on Thursday, enjoyed a walk-over in the mixed doubles.
India scored an expected win over Japan in group A as Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna wrapped up their matches in straights sets and then ensured a clean slate by winning the mixed doubles.
Mirza, the highest-ranked player among both men and women in the championship at 67, scored a 7-5, 6-2 win over 245th-ranked Tomoko Yonemura in 75 minutes.
"We have to watch out in the final tomorrow," said Mirza. "[Taiwan] will be tough and we can't take things easy."
Bopanna, ranked 259 in the world, clinched the decisive lead for India with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 win over 488th-ranked Yuichi Sugita.
A hard-fought last game of the match saw 10 deuces but Bopanna managed his second service break of the second set to ensure the match did not stretch beyond 77 minutes.
"I got breaks when I needed them and it was tough for him to break my serve," said Bopanna, 26, a last-minute replacement for Leander Paes in the Indian team.
Mirza and Bopanna won the mixed doubles 6-0, 6-1 against the Japanese pair, who had lost 2-1 to China on Friday.
China, who had lost 3-0 to India on the opening day, put up an inconsistent display but still overcame an unimpressive Japan under lights in the second tie of group A.
In group B on Friday, Thailand beat the Philippines 2-1.
Laungnam scored an impressive 6-4, 6-4 win over Czarina Arevalo and Doakmaiklee overcame Patrick Tierro 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 7-5 in the men's singles to ensure a decisive lead.
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
Taiwan’s men’s basketball team on Monday clinched a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup quarter-finals with a 78-64 win over Jordan in Saudi Arabia, securing their best finish in the tournament since placing fourth in 2013. The win was sweet revenge for Taiwan, who were denied a quarter-final spot by Jordan at the same stage of the previous Asia Cup in 2022 after blowing a nine-point lead in the final minute and losing 97-96 on a half-court buzzer-beater. “History is part of the journey,” Taiwan head coach Gianluca Tucci said when asked about the 2022 collapse of the team, who he did
Leicester City on Sunday launched their quest for an immediate return to the English Premier League with a 2-1 win at home to crisis club Sheffield Wednesday after the visitors’ supporters protested against Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri. Wednesday are under several English Football League embargoes for a range of financial breaches, with payments of wages to players and staff delayed for the past three months. Owls fans made their feelings toward Thai businessman Chansiri clear by delaying their entry to their seats and the away end was empty as the players came onto the pitch at the King Power Stadium, with a
RSS