Top seed Daniela Hantuchova launched her quest for a first career WTA title at the Bali Open yesterday with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Ukrainian Olga Savchuk.
The 25-year-old Slovakian, currently ranked 11th in the world, is hoping to go one step further than she did here last year, when she lost in the final to former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, who was launching her comeback.
Hantuchova won the first set easily against the 121st-ranked Savchuk, but was tested in the second as the underdog mounted a spirited fight in the tropical heat.
PHOTO: AP
Savchuk broke Hantuchova with a passing shot winner for a 4-2 lead, but the Slovakian broke back in the following game, and sealed the victory on her second match point.
“She picked up her level the second set,” Hantuchova said. “She was more aggressive on serve and it was tough to break here. I made one mistake and she broke me. But I broke right back, I’m pleased for that. I just kept fighting for every point. It was a good test for me, I handled the big points well.”
Hantuchova is trying to salvage her season after suffering a stress fracture in her right heel two months before Wimbledon.
“It’s getting there,” she said of her conditioning. “I’m working as hard as I can. I understand it’s a long way back and it’s not 100 percent yet. I have to keep going, play a lot of practice sets and hopefully soon I will be back.”
Her win yesterday was only her fourth since the start of the grass-court season, and comes after a first-round loss at the US Open against German Anna-Lena Groenefeld.
Poland’s Marta Domachowska booked a quarter-final place with a win over US veteran Jill Craybas 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4.
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Peng Shuai of China defeated Japan’s Ayumi Morita and Aiko Nakamura 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the doubles yesterday.
On Tuesday, Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan defeated Morita 6-2, 6-1 to book a second-round clash against Peng.
Sara Errani, Flavia Pennetta and Anastasia Rodionova also advanced on Tuesday.
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Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
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