A neck injury saw Lu Yen-hsun’s Miami Open challenge end almost before it had begun on Wednesday as the Taiwanese No. 1 crashed out of the first round of the men’s singles.
World No. 62 Lu was trailing 1-5 to world No. 44 Donald Young when the injury forced the Taiwanese player to retire in just 23 minutes in Miami, with the American progressing to the second round, where he faces third seed Andy Murray of Britain.
Lu’s early departure means Taiwanese hopes in Florida now rest on the shoulders of the women, with Hsieh Su-wei and Chan Hao-ching hoping to improve on their performances in Indian Wells, California, two weeks ago, when they both crashed out in the first round of the women’s doubles.
Photo: AFP
Fourth seeds Hsieh and Flavia Pennetta of Italy have been drawn against wild-card pairing Alize Cornet of France and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the first round and they will be hoping to improve on their first match as a partnership, when they fell to a 6-1, 3-6, 10-8 loss to Klaudia Jans-Ignacik of Poland and Andreja Klepac of Slovenia in the first round at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Chan and her partner, former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, have been drawn against Spanish duo Arantxa Parra Santonja and Silvia Soler-Espinosa.
Chan, who is the world No. 32 in doubles, and Jankovic also crashed out of the first round in California, falling to a 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 10-5 defeat to German duo Sabine Lisicki and Andrea Petkovic.
Photo: EPA
In the women’s singles on Wednesday, two-time Miami Open champion Victoria Azarenka easily advanced to the second round, beating Soler-Espinosa 6-1, 6-3.
World No. 36 Azarenka, the 2009 and 2011 winner from Belarus, is playing in Miami for the first time since 2012. She missed the 2013 tournament with a right-ankle injury and sat out last year with a left-foot injury.
“It’s been unfortunate the last couple of years for me, but I love this tournament,” said Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion. “I’m just looking forward to build my momentum here again and try to play as many matches as possible.”
The left-foot injury plagued Azarenka throughout last season, limiting her to nine tournaments. This year, she reached the Doha final last month.
Azarenka took a 4-1 lead in the first set, before Soler-Espinosa held serve in the fifth game.
In the second set, Azarenka initially trailed 3-1, before winning the next five games to close out the match.
“I think it was a pretty good first set,” Azarenka said. “Second set, there were a bit too many mistakes in the beginning.”
Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic, who has had two shoulder surgeries in the past five years, won her first WTA Tour match since the Memphis tournament in February 2010.
The world No. 328, who had a career-high ranking of seventh in 2007, beat Hungarian qualifier Timea Babos 6-1, 7-6 (7/4).
“I think I just wanted to give it my all and have no regrets if I can,” Vaidisova said. “I’m trying to do everything as good as possible.”
World No. 45 Sloane Stephens posted a 6-1, 6-3 win over Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium.
Stephens, who has returned to living in South Florida from Los Angeles, is working again with coach Nick Saviano.
Wickmayer made 35 unforced errors, while Stephens had only 16. Stephens broke Wickmayer’s serve five times in the match.
“I thought I played really well,” Stephens said. “Obviously, playing in South Florida is always great for me. Being home and having the home crowd is really nice.”
Two other American women also advanced to the second round.
Christina McHale beat Romanian wild-card Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 6-4, while Alison Riske topped Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia 6-4, 6-0.
Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic advanced over veteran Daniela Hantuchova 6-1, 7-6 (7/5) and Britain’s Heather Watson defeated Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.
Meanwhile, world No. 1 Serena Williams said she is prepared to fight through pain to get onto the court today and begin defending her title.
The 19-time Grand Slam singles champion, forced out before her Indian Wells semi-final last week against eventual champion Simona Halep, said on Wednesday that she expects to “manage pain” when she opens in the second round against Romania’s Monica Niculescu.
“I’m just managing where I am right now,” Williams said. “Just trying to stay out of as much pain as possible and see what happens. I know I’m going to have to manage the pain. I think if I’m in that mental state, OK, you might be in a little pain. You just have to figure out the best way around it.”
The Niculescu match is a repeat of the second round in Indian Wells, which Williams won in two difficult sets, and will probably bring her big pain test.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on it before,” she said. “I’m just here in Miami, so I’m just going to go for it and see what happens.”
The top seed will be bidding for a record eighth trophy at her home event, capturing her seventh last year when she beat China’s Li Na in the final.
“I definitely don’t have low expectations,” Williams said. “I just definitely expect to do the best that I can. Whether that’s winning or just stepping out on the court, that’s what I’m going to have to do. I don’t feel any pressure because I have won this title a few times, so I feel good about being here.”
The 33-year-old American admitted that she had not imagined being able to play Miami after her knee problem.
“It takes a tremendous amount for me to stop. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or that’s a bad thing, but I think I will be OK,” she said.
In the men’s singles, Jack Sock of the US, making a comeback after having surgery in December last year to repair a right pelvic muscle, advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Go Soeda of Japan.
World No. 45 Sock also spent three weeks last month bedside at a hospital with 24-year-old brother Eric, who was near death suffering from Lemierre’s syndrome.
“The biggest thing for me, in the back of the mind, to go out and play a pretty physical game,” Sock said. “To be able to go out and know that I can play every point the way I need to.”
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