Taiwan’s Chang Kai-chen will play in both finals at the Jiangxi Women’s Tennis Open in Nanchang, China, today after she battled for almost three hours to overcome Lu Jiajing of China in their singles semi-final yesterday, a day after rallying from a set down to seal a spot in the doubles final.
The 24-year-old Taiwanese world No. 191, who reached a career-high 82nd in the rankings in 2010, had to come back from a set down on Center Court again yesterday, but she eventually prevailed 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/3) in a marathon semi-final at the Nanchang International Sports Center that lasted 2 hours, 50 minutes
Chang, who won the gold medal in the women’s singles at the Summer Universiade in South Korea on July 12, saved six of 14 break points and converted six of 17, winning 125 of the 247 points contested to edge Lu, who saved two match points at 5-6 in the third set, but could not prevent the Taiwanese from claiming the third-set tiebreaker at the WTA 125K tournament.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
In today’s singles final, Chang faces an even tougher opponent, top seed and former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, after the Serbian world No. 25 cruised past Han Xinyun of China 6-1, 6-2 in 1 hour, 27 minutes in the second semi-final on Center Court.
On Friday night, Chang and Zheng Saisai of China advanced to today’s doubles final after rallying from a set down to defeat second-seeded Chinese duo Han Xinyun and Zhang Kailin 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 10-8.
The third-seeded cross-strait pairing saved one of four break points and converted four of 11, winning 85 of the 159 points contested to complete the hard-fought victory in 1 hour, 51 minutes on Center Court.
Taiwan is guaranteed a champion in Nanchang today after top seeds Chan Chin-wei of Taiwan and Wang Yafan of China comprehensively defeated Japanese duo Miyu Kato and Kotomi Takahata 6-2, 6-4 in yesterday’s second doubles semi-final, which was moved to Court 1.
The cross-strait pairing saved seven of eight break points and converted four of 10, winning 61 of the 106 points contested to complete the victory in 1 hour, 13 minutes.
BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC
World No. 1 Serena Williams has withdrawn from this week’s Bank of the West Classic because of an elbow injury she says must get “back to 100 percent.”
Williams expressed her disappointment and said: “The tournament is one of my favorites, and the fans have always been so generous and supportive of me.”
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
MLB is experiencing an epidemic of guys being dudes. At ballparks all across the US, groups consisting of mostly young men are joining in on the “Tarps Off” trend that is loud, goofy, infectious and new to the baseball world. Joining in on the fun is simple: Go to the section where the party is happening, take off your shirt and start twirling it above your head. Soccer-like chants or singing usually follow — injecting a jolt of energy for a sport that is occasionally chided for its lack of energy inside the stadium. After getting its start in St Louis, Missouri, on
Hull City AFC are to play Middlesbrough for a place in the Premier League after Southampton on Wednesday failed in their appeal against expulsion from the Championship playoff final for spying on opponents. Southampton were thrown out of the final on Tuesday and handed a four-point deduction for next season after they had beaten semi-final opponents Middlesbrough. “The original sanction of expulsion ... remains in place, as does the four-point deduction to be applied to the 2026/27 Championship table and the reprimand in respect of all charges,” the English Football League said in a statement. The final is to be played at Wembley
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