Taiwan’s Chan Chin-wei, Chuang Chia-jung and Hsieh Shu-ying were frustrated yesterday after their bids for the Zhonghong Jiangxi International Women’s Open doubles title were put on hold after wind and rain brought by Typhoon Matmo halted proceedings at the WTA Tour 125 tournament in Nanchang, China.
No. 3 seeds Chan and Xu Yi-fan of China won the first set 6-3 against Chinese duo Sun Xu Liu and Zheng Wushuang, and it was 15-15 in the first game of the second when the wind and rain caused all of the matches to be suspended.
Chan and Xu took advantage of a double fault to set up two break points in the fifth game and they converted at the first opportunity. The pairing then broke again in the seventh game, before their opponents fought back to break in the eighth.
Another double fault and some good returns of serve then set up three more break points in the ninth game, and Chan and Xu converted at the first opportunity yet again to claim the first set in a little over 30 minutes.
When play resumed on the indoor courts at 8:30pm, Chan and Xu closed out the contest 6-3, 6-1 in just an hour and are due to face Chinese pairing Liang Chen and Zhu Lin in the quarter-finals.
Chuang and her partner, Junri Namigata of Japan, were due to face fourth seeds Hsieh and Misaki Doi of Japan in the first round later yesterday on the indoor courts.
The winners of the Taiwanese duel next face Italy’s Gioia Barbieri and Marina Melnikova of Russia.
In the singles, one match was completed, with China’s Wang Qiang defeating Noppawan Lertcheewakarn of Thailand 6-1, 7-6 (7/2) in 1 hour, 32 minutes in the second round to set up a quarter-final with either top seed Peng Shuai of China or Ilona Kremen of Belarus.
BAKU CUP
Fifth seed Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia cruised into the quarter-finals of the Baku Cup in Azerbaijan yesterday after a 6-3, 6-1 defeat of Poland’s Katarzyna Piter in the second round.
The world No. 40 and the winner of the tournament in 2012 saved three of five break-point chances and converted six of 11 to complete the victory in just 1 hour, 11 minutes.
Jovanonski faces qualifier Misa Eguchi in the quarter-finals after the Japanese player romped to a 6-2, 6-1 win over Poland’s Urszula Radwanska in 1 hour 13 minutes.
Also yesterday, Israel’s Shahar Peer rallied to defeat qualifier Vesna Dolonc of Serbia 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
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