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.
Soccer officials yesterday offered “full support and assistance” to the Iranian team in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after the US and Israel launched massive attacks on their homeland. Iran’s 26-strong squad arrived on the Gold Coast days before the strikes on Saturday killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Washington and Tel Aviv seek to topple the Islamic republic. They are due to open their tournament today against South Korea. The AFC in a statement said it “continues to closely monitor the recent developments in the Middle East during this challenging period.” “The AFC’s foremost priority remains the welfare, safety and
ROAD RASH: Marc Marquez retired after a crash, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that a Ducati bike failed to make the podium Marco Bezzecchi yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening grand prix in Thailand from pole position as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel. Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third. Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equaling eighth world title this season, but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go. The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide, with the jolt to his bike dislodging the rear tire, badly damaging his
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
RSS