Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Peng Shuai of China cruised into the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the China Open in Beijing yesterday, while fellow Taiwanese Chan Hao-ching and her partner, Liezel Huber of the US, failed to build on Monday’s heroics when they stunned the Williams sisters.
Second seeds Hsieh and Peng took just over an hour to dispose of Germany’s Julia Goerges and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4 to set up a quarter-final clash with sixth-seeded US duo Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears, with the added incentive of knowing that if they claim the title at the weekend they will clinch a spot at the WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, later this month.
Chan and Huber came close to causing a second upset in two days, but they narrowly lost to top-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, who won 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 10-8.
Photo: AFP
In the first round of the men’s singles, Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko proved too hot for Lu Yen-hsun as he swept the Taiwanese No. 1 aside 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 in just over an hour and a half, while men’s favorites Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal powered through their opening matches.
Djokovic signaled his intent to reclaim the title he won in the Chinese capital last year, sweeping aside Lukas Rosol 6-0, 6-3.
The Serbian world No. 1 — and top seed — dumped out his Czech challenger in just 53 minutes.
Nadal, who could unseat Djokovic in the world rankings after Beijing, faced slightly more resistance from Santiago Giraldo, with the Spaniard claiming a 6-2, 6-4 win in about 90 minutes.
The second seed next faces German Philipp Kohlschreiber, while Djokovic meets Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in the second round.
Nadal said he would look back on his career with pride even if he does not eclipse Roger Federer’s record 17 Grand Slam titles.
The world No. 2 currently has 13 and has been in sizzling form this season after a long-term injury.
Tennis legends Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras have reportedly said the Spaniard could overtake Federer before the 27-year-old finishes his tennis career.
“If that happens or that not happens, the only thing I am sure is when I am going to leave this tour I am going to be very happy about what I did,” Nadal told reporters in Beijing.
Nadal believes he would need to sustain his form — and crucially his fitness — for the next four years if he is to better Federer’s Grand Slam achievements.
“I tried everything in every practice, in every match. I gave everything. When you try your best every day, that’s all that you can do. I think I did. So that’s why I am going to be happy,” Nadal said.
Fifth seed Richard Gasquet and sixth seed Stanislas Wawrinka both safely negotiated their way through.
France’s Gasquet defeated Florian Mayer of Germany 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), while Switzerland’s Wawrinka needed three sets to overcome Italian Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Verdasco claimed victory over Somdev Devvarman of India 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 and Sam Querrey of the US defeated Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
In the women’s singles, world No. 1 Serena Williams at times appeared agitated during her 6-4, 7-5 victory over Italian Francesca Schiavone, shouting at herself over lost points.
The American only showed rare moments of her trademark power, gaining the upper hand in the first set via a mistake from her opponent, who double-faulted on set point.
Top seed Williams was forced to become more aggressive in the second set after her serve was broken in the first game by Schiavone, Italy’s first Grand Slam winner at Roland Garros in 2010 and the current world No. 50.
As the competition intensified both players’ tempers threatened to boil over, with Williams ranting and Schiavone smashing balls into the barriers at the side of the court, but Williams seemed calmer — and quieter — as she closed in on a hard-earned victory.
Meanwhile, her sister Venus crashed out 6-1, 6-2 to Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki.
No. 12 seed Carla Suarez Navarro defeated Lauren Davis of the US 6-4, 6-2 to book her place in the third round, while fans favorite Li Na of China took less than an hour to dispose of Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski 6-0, 6-1.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB