Taiwan’s Chuang Chia-jung, who has been unable to sustain her top 10 doubles ranking playing with a variety of partners after splitting with compatriot Chan Yung-jan, seems to have found a good fit with India’s Sania Mirza.
One week after the duo reached the semi-finals of women’s doubles at the Sony Ericsson Open, Chuang and Mirza reached the finals of the MPS Group Championships in Florida by defeating Liga Dekmeijere of Latvia and Angela Haynes of the US 6-4, 6-3 in Saturday’s semis.
In the final of the clay court event yesterday, Chuang and Mirza were to face top seeds Czech Kveta Peschke and American Lisa Raymond, the same duo that knocked them out at the Sony Ericsson Open in two tight sets.
PHOTO : AP
Chuang was ranked as high as No. 5 in the world in doubles during her nearly 20-month collaboration with Chan, which ended at last year’s US Open after a failed bid for an Olympic medal at the Beijing Summer Olympics last year.
Her ranking has fallen since the split, but Chuang is now back up to No. 17 in the world and could move up another two slots if she and Mirza capture the MPS Group Championships title.
In singles play, Fifth-seeded Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak upset top-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the finals.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Wozniak advanced to a meeting with second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who beat Russia’s Elena Vesnina in the second semi-final 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
■US MEN’S CLAY COURT
AP, HOUSTON
PHOTO : REUTER
Lleyton Hewitt of Australia reached his first clay court final in a decade with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Evgeny Korolev of Russia at the US Men’s Clay Court Championships on Saturday.
The former No. 1 player, who has won 26 titles, was to meet first-time finalist Wayne Odesnik of the US yesterday.
Odesnik beat Germany’s Bjorn Phau 6-4, 6-3 in their semi-final.
Hewitt won his 498th career match, moving him closer to joining Roger Federer and Carlos Moya as the only active players with 500 wins. A victory yesterday would give Hewitt his first title on clay since Delray Beach in 1999.
Odesnik will be trying to become the first American to win a clay court event since 2006 when Mardy Fish won in Houston.
■ANDALUCIA CHAMPIONSHIPS
AFP, MARBELLA, SPAIN
Spanish fifth seed Carla Suarez Navarro was set to stand in the way of Serbian favorite and second seed Jelena Jankovic in yesterday’s final of the US$500,000 WTA Andalucia Tennis Experience claycourt tournament after both showed their form with semi-final wins.
Jankovic was barely troubled as she ended the dreams of Spanish fourth seed Anabel Medina Garrigues 7-5, 6-2, while Suarez Navarro had to go the full distance before seeing off Romanian seventh seed Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2.
Canary Islander Suarez Navarro, 20 and a quarter-finalist in the Australian and French Opens in the past year, won through in 2 hours, 42 minutes after quickly righting herself following a second set tiebreak loss.
■CASABLANCA
AFP, CASABLANCA, MOROCCO
Spain’s former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero reached his first final in 15 months on Saturday when he defeated top seeded Russian Igor Andreev 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 in the Casablanca ATP claycourt tournament semi-finals. Victory also took the unseeded Ferrero to within four wins of the 400-match win career mark.
In Sunday’s final, Ferrero, without a title in over five years, will tackle French fifth seed Florent Serra, who enjoyed a 6-4, 6-4 victory over third-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two