World No. 1 Serena Williams survived a late second set hiccup to move into the quarter-finals of the Swedish Open with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Georgia’s Anna Tatishvili.
The US star remains unbeaten on clay this season after winning 25 straight matches including a perfect run on the way to her second French Open title and 16th Grand Slam singles crown last month. She now faces Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino. Williams was cruising after sealing the first set and easing into a 5-0 second set lead before wasting three match points and finally closing out the match 6-3.
The other quarter-final match-ups feature Dutch hope Richel Hogenkamp against Czech Republic third seed Klara Zakopalova while French veteran Virginie Razzano takes on Italy’s Flavia Pennetta. Pennetta was 2-0 up in the final set against second seed Simona Halep in their second round match before the Romanian retired injured. The final last eight tie sees eighth seeded Johanna Larsson taking on Frenchwoman Mathilde Johansson.
GASTEIN LADIES
AP, BAD GASTEIN, Austria
Annika Beck of Germany came from behind to beat Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 and reach her fifth quarter-final of the season at the Gastein Ladies on Thursday.
The second-seeded Beck double-faulted five times in the opening set and saved 12 break points in total. She will next play eighth-seeded Karin Knapp of Italy.
Elina Svitolina of Ukraine beat sixth-seeded Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 7-5, 1-6, 6-1 and will face Patricia Mayr-Achleitner in the last eight. Svilotina managed to claim only four points against Scheepers’ serve in the second set, but broke her opponent four times in the decider.
Yvonne Meusburger of Austria, who reached the final in 2007, defeated third-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-3, 6-3. Meusburger, who reached the final in Budapast last week, converted seven of 10 break points.
Meusburger will next play Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, who rallied from a set and a break down to beat Estrella Cabeza Candela of Spain 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
Mayr-Achleitner became the third Austrian player after Meusburger and Lisa-Maria Moser to reach the quarter-finals by defeating Petra Martic of Croatia 6-4, 6-4.
STANFORD
AFP, STANFORD, California
Reigning Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has pulled out of next week’s WTA Tour Stanford tournament with a strained hamstring.
The withdrawal of former winner Bartoli robs the event of another top draw, coming just three days after world No. 2 Maria Sharapova pulled out with an injury.
The absence of France’s Bartoli, who is ranked seventh in the world, leaves Agnieszka Radwanska (No. 4) as the only player ranked in the top 10 in the world left in the 28-player field.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
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A soccer jersey carrying a national map including disputed Western Sahara has become a hot commodity in Morocco after a diplomatic dispute with Algeria. Retailers said RS Berkane jerseys have been flying off the shelves after a Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup match against Algerian club USM Alger was canceled last month over the jerseys. “We are overwhelmed by the influx of messages and requests,” said Brahim Rabii, representative of the official RS Berkane jersey distributor. Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, partly over the issue of Western Sahara. The former Spanish colony is largely controlled by Morocco, but claimed
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just