Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan yesterday crushed the second seeds to win their second straight round-robin match at the WTA Finals in Singapore and stand on the verge of a spot in Saturday’s semi-finals.
The third-seeded Taiwanese sisters took just 71 minutes to complete a crushing 6-2, 6-2 victory over Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic to go top of the White Group.
The Chan sisters saved all three break points they faced and converted four of seven, winning 60 of the 106 points contested to maintain a 100 percent record at the season-ending tournament.
Photo: AFP
“Got our 2nd win here in the White Group, happy we got the advantage with 2-0, but still need to stay focus with every single match,” Chan Yung-jan said on Facebook.
The Taiwanese duo would qualify for the semi-finals should Caroline Garcia of France and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia, who they defeated 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) in their opening match, have defeated eighth-seeded Spanish duo Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro in the late match last night.
“We were a little bit nervous, but definitely excited, and it was quite a good first match for us,” elder sister Chan Yung-Jan told the WTA Tour Web site after their opening victory against Garcia and Srebotnik. “They’re not a weak team — everyone here could be in the finals of a Grand Slam. Everybody’s trying their best and I’m happy we got the advantage in the first round.”
“At the end of the second set, we just tried to keep...” Chan Hao-ching began, before her sister suggested: “Calm?”
The two laughed, before the younger sister finished: “Yes, and to keep playing the way we were for two sets.”
In the singles yesterday, US Open champion Flavia Pennetta kept alive her bid with a flurry of backhand winners as she downed a strapped up and fatigued Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets.
The Italian, who said she plans to retire after the tournament, struck her 11th backhand winner crisply down the line on her fourth match point to seal an impressive 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 victory over the Pole at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
It was Pennetta’s first win in the Red Group after she was blown away by top seed Simona Halep of Romania 6-0, 6-3 in her opener on Sunday. The Italian said a pep talk from her coach proved to be the difference.
“[He] just came in the court and told me to be more aggressive, to be more with my backhand more than my forehand,” the 33-year-old Italian told reporters. “He just told me: ‘Keep going and try to go for the shot.’”
“The concentration was really slipping away sometimes and I wasn’t focused enough,” Radwanska said.
The Polish world No. 6 had started brightly, twice holding a break in the first set, but was broken when trying to serve it out at 5-4 and Pennetta’s dominant backhand took control as the Italian prevailed in the tiebreaker.
Pennetta had a worrying moment in the tiebreaker when she appeared to hurt her ankle and needed a medical time-out in the third game of the second set because of blisters, but the issues failed to halt her ambition.
Pennetta crushed 37 winners against an increasingly deflated Radwanska — who played with a heavily taped shoulder and looked weary after a recent hectic schedule in a bid to qualify for the eight-woman finals — and secured the sole break in the seventh game with a powerful backhand return before confidently riding out winner.
In yesterday’s late match, Maria Sharapova defeated Halep 6-4, 6-4. A victory for the Romanian would have eliminated Radwanska, who was beaten by the Russian in her opener.
Sharapova and Halep consecutively traded points in the first game until the Russian was able to pull away. In the second game, Halep rallied from 4-1 down, but Sharapova managed to maintain her lead for the victory.
Additional reporting by staff writer
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care