Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan advanced to the quarter-finals of the singles competition at the OEC Taipei WTA Challenger yesterday, while fellow Taiwanese Asian Games gold medalist Hsieh Su-wei crashed out in the first round at the Taipei Arena.
World No. 212 Chan saved seven of nine break-point chances and converted four of 10 to battle to a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Ekaterina Bychkova in 1 hour, 42 minutes on Center Court, despite the Russian world No. 155 serving 13 aces to Chan’s three.
In the quarter-finals Chan is due to face fourth seed Alla Kudryavtseva, after the 98th-ranked Russian defeated Misaki Doi of Japan 6-4, 6-4 in the second round yesterday.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
In yesterday’s other second-round matches, second seed Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand defeated Elizaveta Kulichkova of Russia 6-4, 6-4 and sixth seed Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia eased to a 6-3, 6-1 win over China’s Duan Ying-ying.
In the first round, Hsieh slumped to a comprehensive 6-2, 6-1 defeat to seventh seed Wang Qiang of China, with the Taiwanese world No. 144 failing to create a single break-point chance.
In other first-round matches, top seed Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany rallied from a set down to defeat Katerina Vankova of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-1, 6-2; eighth-seeded Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm lost 7-5, 6-2 to Romanian qualifier Ana Bogdan; and Poland’s Magda Linette eased past Tadeja Majeric of Slovenia 6-4, 6-0.
In the first round of the doubles, Hsieh Su-wei’s younger sister, Hsieh Shu-ying, teamed up with China’s Xu Yi-fan for a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Ankita Raina of India and Vankova in just 48 minutes.
The fourth-seeded cross-strait duo saved three of three break-point chances and converted four of five to set up a quarter-final clash with Chinese duo Zhang Kai-lin and Han Xinyun, who defeated Taiwan’s Lee Pei-chi and Zhang Ying of China 6-2, 6-3.
Also advancing to the quarter-finals of the doubles were Taiwan’s Lee Ya-hsuan and Majeric, who rallied from a set down to beat Taiwanese pairing Cho I-hsuan and Hsu Ching-wen 5-7, 6-3, 10-4 in 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Lee and Majeric saved one of four break-point chances and converted four of 12 to set up a quarter-final against second seeds Arina Rodionova of Australia and Olga Savchuk of Ukraine, who defeated Linette and Hong Kong’s Zhang Ling 6-4, 6-1 yesterday.
Third seeds Chan Chin-wei of Taiwan and China’s Liang Chen were leading Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Alexandra Riley of the US 6-2, 1-1 at press time last night.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
RSS