Qualifier Lee Ya-hsuan advanced to the second round of the Hong Kong Open yesterday, while fellow Taiwanese Chang Kai-chen crashed out to Russian lucky loser Anastasiya Komardina.
Lee took just 62 minutes to defeat fellow qualifier Jang Su-jeong of South Korea 6-3, 6-1 and set up a second-round clash with either Heather Watson of Britain or Zhang Kailin of China.
Komardina beat Chang 6-4, 7-5, winning the final seven games as she recovered from 5-0 down in the second set.
Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig also advanced by beating Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand 6-1, 6-2.
Puig was ranked No. 41 last year, but has since dropped to No. 92.
“I had a very difficult year and changed my coach after Wimbledon, and it has suddenly made a huge difference in my game,” the 22-year-old said. “I have started to become more consistent result-wise and win more matches.”
Several top players have withdrawn from the Hong Kong Open because of injury, including world No. 4 Garbine Muguruza.
Lara Arruabarrena of Spain also advanced at Victoria Park, beating Irina Falconi of the US 6-4, 6-3.
In yesterday’s other first-round matches, Yaroslava Shvedova defeated Jarmila Gajdosova 6-4, 6-4 and Anastasia Rodionova beat qualifier Irina Ramialison 6-4, 7-5.
Lee also advanced to the quarter-finals of the doubles, seeing off Lauren Davis of the US and Kurumi Nara of Japan 6-4, 6-3 alongside fellow Taiwanese Chan Chin-wei.
Taiwan’s Chuang Chia-jung and Kumkhum Also advanced to the quarter-finals after they defeated Hong Kong wild-cards Sher Chun-wing and Wu Ho Ching 6-3, 6-3.
Additional reporting by staff writer
TIANJIN OPEN
Elina Svitolina crashed out of the Tianjin Open in the first round yesterday, continuing a poor run for the Ukrainian who dropped out of the world top 20 this week.
Svitolina, who reached a career-high ranking of 15 after making it to the semi-finals in Cincinnati in August, lost to world No. 115 Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-2, 6-4.
At last week’s China Open in Beijing, Svitolina fell in the second round to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
China’s top player and home-crowd favorite Zheng Saisai, seeded eighth, also lost in two sets to unseeded Russian Evgeniya Rodina 7-5, 6-3.
Fifth seed Kristina Mladenovic took just 46 minutes to down Liu Fangzhou of China 6-0, 6-1.
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
RSS