Defending champion Li Na and Peng Shuai advanced yesterday to set up an all-Chinese final at the Shenzhen Open.
The top-seeded Li defeated Germany’s Annika Beck 6-1, 6-3, while fifth-seeded Peng advanced in a walkover when the US’ Vania King withdrew with a right thigh injury.
“It’ll be a tough match tomorrow [today],” Li said. “We’re quite familiar with each other and have improved a lot over the past year. But no matter what, I’m quite looking forward to the final.”
Li was leading 6-1, 5-0 yesterday when Beck came back to reel off three straight games, but the former French Open champion regrouped to close out the match.
King said she began feeling pain in her leg during her win over second-seeded Sara Errani in the second round and pulled out to rest before the Australian Open, which begins on Jan. 13.
“It was a really difficult decision for me to pull out because I hate losing and not competing,” King said. “But I just have to look out for my health.”
Today’s final is set to be just the second in WTA history to feature two Chinese players. Li lost the first when she retired against Zheng Jie at Oeiras in 2006.
Li has a 5-1 record against Peng, including a 4-0 mark at tournaments in China.
AUCKLAND CLASSIC
AFP, AUCKLAND
Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic maintained her sizzling form yesterday to storm into the final of the Auckland Classic, setting up a decider with seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams.
Second seed Ivanovic dominated her doubles partner Kirsten Flipkens 6-0, 7-6 (7-3) in their semi-final, while Williams benefited from a walkover after fifth seed Jamie Hampton pulled out with an injury.
Ivanovic made the perfect start, breaking Flipkens three times to take the first set from the Belgian 6-0 in just 22 minutes.
Flipkens, who committed 13 unforced errors in the first set and three double faults, recovered to force a tie-break in the second.
However, Ivanovic, who has not dropped a set in the tournament, never looked troubled and comfortably wrapped up the match.
The win gave the Serb, who has failed to capitalize on her sole Grand Slam success at the 2008 French Open, the chance to win her first WTA Tour title since November 2011.
It will be a confidence booster for the world No. 16 ahead of today’s showdown with Williams, who has won eight of their nine previous meetings.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set