The Chan sisters advanced to the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, on Thursday, while two-time Grand Slam champions Hsieh Su-wei and Peng Shuai lost their first match since losing the WTA Finals doubles final in Singapore in October 2014.
Second seeds Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan defeated German wild-cards Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-3 in 74 minutes at Stadium 2 at the India Wells Tennis Garden.
The Taiwanese sisters saved four of eight break points and converted six of 13, winning 60 of the 111 points contested to pick up the scalp of world No. 2 singles player Kerber.
Photo: AFP
In the second round, the Chan sisters — who were named on Wednesday last week online sports newspaper Vavel USA’s team of the month for last month — face either American duo Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Coco Vandeweghe, or Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain, who were due to play their first-round match yesterday.
Former doubles world No. 1s Hsieh and Peng failed to revive past glories in their first-round match, falling 6-0, 6-2 to Sara Errani of Italy and Oksana Kalashnikova of Georgia in just 51 minutes.
Hsieh has been mainly concentrating on the singles this season, while Peng is just happy to be back playing after missing all of last year following a career-threatening back injury.
“I thought about giving up many times,” Peng told the WTA Web site after playing in the doubles in Shenzhen in January. “Before the surgery I went to see doctors in [the] US and Germany; both of them said even [if] I took the surgery, they can’t guarantee that I can be 100 percent fit again.”
In the singles, Eugenie Bouchard beat Japanese qualifier Risa Ozaki 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Bouchard, who is trying to recapture the form that carried her to No. 5 in the world late in 2014, battled with her own inconsistency throughout the match, but won on her first match point when Ozaki hit a backhand just long.
Bouchard, No. 42 this week, faces 21st-seeded Sloane Stephens of the US in the second round.
American Ryan Harrison beat Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) in their first-round match.
Earlier, teenagers Frances Tiafoe and Brona Coric grabbed the center-court spotlight.
Tiafoe outlasted Taylor Fritz 3-6, 6-2, 3-6 in a battle of 18-year-old Americans, while Coric, a 19-year-old Croatian, beat Lucas Pouille of France 6-2, 7-5.
On the first day of the men’s draw, Nicolas Mahut of France, Leonardo Mayer of Argentina and Robin Haase of the Netherlands advanced. Mahut beat qualifier Renzo Olivo of Argentina 6-2, 6-4; Mayer ousted Sam Groth of Australia 6-4, 6-3; and Haase toppled Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-3, 6-4.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two