Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching unexpectedly crashed out of the first round of the doubles at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, on Wednesday.
Fourth seeds Chan and Andrea Petkovic of Germany were stunned 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 by unseeded pairing Paula Kania of Poland and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.
Chan and Petkovic saved four of seven break-point chances, but only converted two of 10 as their opponents triumphed in 1 hour, 20 minutes, despite winning fewer points — 59 to 62.
Photo: AFP
Kania and Siniakova face Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova and Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain in the quarter-finals.
In the singles, Serena Williams put a worrying Wimbledon behind her, launching her buildup to the US Open with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Karolina Pliskova.
The American world No. 1, playing for the first time since her third-round singles exit at Wimbledon was followed by a dramatic doubles retirement, showed no sign of illness or rust as she rolled to victory over the world No. 45 Czech in 64 minutes.
After enjoying a first-round bye, the top seed punched her ticket to the quarter-finals of the hard-court tournament, where she is due to face the winner of yesterday’s second-round match between former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Canadian qualifier Carol Zhao.
Second seed Agnieszka Radwanska was less successful in her first outing since a disappointing Wimbledon.
Unseeded Varvara Lepchenko toppled the world No. 5 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 for her first win over the Polish star in six career meetings.
Radwanska, in her first match since a fourth-round Wimbledon exit, squandered a 3-1 lead in the opening set. She broke Lepchenko three times to take the second set, but was on the defensive after an early break in the third.
Radwanska broke back to knot the set at 3-3, but Lepchenko, ranked 59th in the world, broke again for a 5-4 lead and seized her chance for a first career victory over a top-five player, holding serve in the final game to seal the triumph after 2 hours, 35 minutes.
With the US Open due to start on Aug. 25, it was another disappointing outing for Radwanska.
She has yet to lift a trophy this year and has not reached a final since a runner-up finish to Italy’s Flavia Pennetta at Indian Wells, California, in March.
Lepchenko next faces US qualifier Sachia Vickery, a 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-1 winner over Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig.
Serena has captured the titles in Brisbane, Australia, Miami and Rome this year, but she has failed to add to her tally of 17 Grand Slam singles titles and the US Open offers her last chance to do so this year.
After falling in the third round of singles at Wimbledon, Serena looked wobbly in a second-round doubles match from which she and her sister Venus eventually retired.
Since then Serena had withdrawn from a tournament in Bastad, Sweden, but she said this week her time off had helped her recover from a virus and she showed no ill-effects on Wednesday.
“She had a really good serve,” Serena said of Pliskova, who kept the first set close, but finally surrendered when the American broke her in the final game.
Serena broke again in the second game en route to a 3-0 lead in the second set, before breaking Pliskova to love to close out the match when the Czech belted a forehand long.
Serena saved all three break points she faced in the match and fired nine aces.
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