Taiwanese hopes were ended at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, on Friday when Chan Chin-wei was ousted by the second seeds in the final doubles quarter-final.
Chan and Darija Jurak of Croatia were beaten 6-3, 7-5 by Spanish duo Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja in 1 hour, 12 minutes.
The second seeds saved two of four break points and converted four of 12, winning 65 of the 118 points contested to advance to a semi-final against third seeds Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Alicja Rosolska of Poland.
Photo: AP
In the quarter-finals of the singles, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic advanced to the semi-finals, beating Croatia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 6-2, 6-4.
The 11th-ranked Pliskova is set to make her debut in the top 10 when the new rankings are released tomorrow.
“It has always been a goal of mine to be top 10 and I finally achieved it, but in the big picture of tennis, I still have to go on the court and play well. The girls do not care if I am 10 or 11,” Pliskova said.
Photo: AP
Only world No. 1 Serena Williams, who withdrew from Stanford with an elbow injury, has more wins (40-1) than Pliskova (38-14) this year and the fourth-seeded Czech player snapped a tie with Williams for most aces on the tour. Pliskova has 361 to Serena’s 352.
Pliskova was to yesterday face Varvara Lepchenko of the US. The 60th-ranked Lepchenko beat Mona Barthel of Germany 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-3.
“There have been a lot of surprises this week,” Pliskova said. “The seeded players have been struggling and the draw is open for anyone. A lot of girls are playing well and my next match will be tough.”
Pliskova is to become the eighth Czech woman to be ranked in the top 10 since the current system was introduced in 1975, and three Czech women are to be among the top 10 for the first time in WTA history.
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina advanced with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over American Alison Riske.
“I was struggling and trying to push myself,” Svitolina said. “It was important to react fast and open the angles.”
Riske was serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set when Svitolina rallied.
“When I was down 4-5, I said to myself: ‘Hit the ball and wait for your chance,’” Svitolina said. “That helped lead me to victory.”
Svitolina is to play No. 14 Angelique Kerber of Germany, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 winner over No. 7 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and