Second seeds Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan crashed out of the first round of the women’s doubles at the Miami Open on Saturday, while fellow Taiwanese Chuang Chia-jung fared no better in her opening match.
The Taiwanese sisters paid the price for only converting three of the 10 break points they created to fall to a 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 defeat to Ekaterina Makarova of Russia and Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, in 1 hour, 31 minutes.
It was the second straight tournament in which the second seeds failed to win their opening match after they lost to US duo Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Coco Vandeweghe at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, earlier this month.
Photo: Geoff Burke, USA Today
Makarova and Strycova converted four of the six break points they created, winning 68 of the 135 points contested to advance to a second-round clash with former world No. 1s Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Peng Shuai of China.
That match against the cross-strait duo was scheduled for the early hours of this morning Taiwan time.
Chuang and Liang Chen of China fared no better as they fell to a 6-2, 6-3 first-round defeat to Russian pairing Daria Kasatkina and Elena Vesnina in 69 minutes.
Photo: AFP
The cross-strait duo converted just one of six break points, while the Russians converted five of 10 to advance to a second-round clash with third seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.
In the men’s singles, Rafael Nadal slumped in a changeover chair, the blood pressure gauge strapped to his mighty left arm serving as a scoreboard. He was on the verge of defeat and a few points later he retired from a match for the first time in six years.
Nadal faded in the subtropical heat and conceded after falling behind in the third set of his opening match against Damir Dzumhur.
The fifth seed trailed 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 when he called it quits after losing a point to fall behind 30-15. He had earlier consulted with a trainer between games three times and had his blood pressure checked.
Nadal said he started feeling ill at the end of the first set.
“It was getting worse and worse and worse,” the Spaniard said. “I get a little bit scared — too dizzy. I felt I was not safe, so I decided to go. I wanted to finish the match, but I seriously couldn’t.”
His departure left the draw without three of the five top seeds after fourth seed Stan Wawrinka lost to Andrey Kuznetsov 6-4, 6-3 and third seed Roger Federer withdrew on Friday because of a stomach virus.
In the night session, second seed Andy Murray won his opening match against Denis Istomin 6-3, 7-5.
In the women’s singles, eight-time champion Serena Williams avoided the upset bug and seemed unfazed by the weather.
The South Floridian earned her 20th consecutive victory at Key Biscayne and reached the fourth round by beating Zarina Diyas 7-5, 6-3.
“I live down the street and I’m used to these conditions,” Williams said. “Even though it was a little humid, I’m used to it and I love this weather.”
Nadal’s match lasted less than two hours, but the temperature approached 32?C and was even higher on the sun-baked hard ourt.
Nadal said he felt fine before the match and was not sure whether he was contracting an illness.
“Hopefully, it’s just the extreme conditions,” he said. “It’s tough for me, because I felt I was playing well. It’s a hard accident. That’s life.”
Nadal later pulled out of the men’s doubles competition.
The 14-time Grand Slam champion has not won a tournament since August last year, but it had been 443 matches since he retired — in the 2010 Australian Open quarter-finals against Murray.
Key Biscayne remains one of the biggest tournaments Nadal has never won. He is 0-4 in finals.
Dzumhur is a 23-year-old Bosnian who was a child actor before he decided to focus on tennis. Ranked 94th, he rallied with a variety of tactics, including half a dozen drop-shots for winners, and an occasional serve-and-volley.
Nadal had to work hard from the start, failing to convert nine break points during a marathon second game before Dzumhur double-faulted to lose serve.
The heat also bothered Dzumhur, who consulted with a trainer following the first set.
“It was really tough to play,” he said. “I felt really tired and heavy, and in some moments dizzy.”
Thomaz Bellucci, the 30th seed, retired from his match after two sets because of dehydration, while 13th seed John Isner double-faulted on his final two service points and lost to qualifier Tim Smyczek 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5).
In the women’s singles, eighth seed Petra Kvitova lost to 30th seed Makarova 6-4, 6-4, while third seed Agnieszka Radwanska, the 2012 champion, eliminated Madison Brengle 6-3, 6-2.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS