Taiwanese No. 1 Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the quarter-finals of the Taiwan Open in Kaohsiung yesterday, while top seed Venus Williams also claimed a spot in the last eight.
Sixth seed Hsieh defeated world No. 173 Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in 1 hour, 50 minutes on Center Court at the Yang-Ming Tennis Center.
The Taiwanese world No. 81 saved two of five break points and converted five of 13, winning 93 of the 173 points contested to set up a quarter-final against world No. 95 Elizaveta Kulichkova on Center Court today.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
Hsieh has a 2-0 career record against the Russian after victories in Sydney earlier this year and in the quarter-finals in Kuala Lumpur last year.
Earlier on Center Court, top seed Williams advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Urszula Radwanska of Poland.
Williams saved two of four break points and converted five of seven, winning 66 of the 118 points contested in 1 hour, 26 minutes.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
Williams faces Latvian world No. 103 Anastasija Sevastova for the first time in today’s quarter-finals.
Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland provided the upset of the day when she ousted Chinese fifth seed Zheng Saisai 6-4, 6-4 in the first match on Center Court.
World No. 117 Voegele saved four of eight break points and converted six of 11, winning 73 of the 135 points contested to complete the victory in 1 hour, 49 minutes.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
It was the Swiss player’s first victory over Zheng. The Chinese world No. 70 won their only previous match at the US Open in 2014.
Voegele faces third seed Yulia Putintseva in today’s quarter-finals. She has a 2-1 career record against the Kazakh world No. 64, including a quarter-final victory in Doha last year.
Also advancing was Japanese second seed Misaki Doi, who took just 73 minutes to ease past world No. 97 Magda Linette of Poland 6-2, 6-3.
The world No. 61 saved five of seven break points and converted five of eight, winning 61 of the 107 points contested to set up a quarter-final against fellow countrywoman seventh seed Kurumi Nara.
In the doubles, Japanese duo Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato ousted second-seeded Chinese pairing Liang Chen and Wang Yafan 6-2, 7-5 in the quarter-finals.
Hozumi and Kato converted five of seven break points and won 64 of the 106 points contested in 66 minutes to set up a semi-final against third-seeded Ukrainian sisters Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok, who defeated Kristina Kucova of Slovakia and Sevastova 7-6 (11/9), 4-6, 10-4.
Taiwanese sisters Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan, the top seeds, face Marina Melnikova of Russia and Minella in the remaining quarter-final on Center Court today.
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
RSS