Taiwan will play in Fed Cup World Group II for the first time next year after they completed a 4-1 victory over Poland in their playoff on Sunday.
With the teams tied at 1-1 after the first two singles rubbers on Saturday in Inowroclaw, Poland, Lee Ya-hsuan and Hsu Ching-wen secured victories over Paula Kania and Magdalena Frech respectively in the reverse singles to secure promotion.
While the hosts were also without world No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska and Magda Linette, who both pulled out with injuries last week, nothing can take away from the achievement of captain Wang Shi-Ting’s young team.
Photo: EPA
However, the day did not start well for Lee, who was broken in her first service game and went to lose the first set against Kania, but she bounced back, saving two match points on her way to a 2-6, 6-3, 9-7 victory in 2 hours, 35 minutes.
Lee saved seven of 13 break points and converted six of 12, winning 109 of the 216 points contested to hand Taiwan a 2-1 lead.
“I was really nervous,” Kania told the Fed Cup Web site. “My opponent, she was playing always very aggressive and I couldn’t really relax in the most important moment, which was my two match points.”
By contrast, world No. 353 Hsu got off to a flying start against Frech, breaking the Polish player twice in the first set and going on to complete a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory in 2 hour, 5 minutes.
The 19-year-old saved four of 10 break points and converted eight of 14, winning 86 of the 161 points contested to give the visitors an unassailable 3-1 lead.
“I’m very happy with the way I played, and how I controlled my nerves and emotions,” Hsu told the Fed Cup Web site.
“I’m also excited because it’s the first time that Taiwan will play in the World Group II,” the teenager said.
Doubles specialists Chan Chin-wei and Chuang Chia-jung then completed a clean sweep by the visitors on Sunday, downing Poland player-captain Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Katarzyna Kawa 6-2, 7-6 (7/1) in 1 hour, 24 minutes.
The Taiwanese duo saved two of four break points and converted four of eight, winning 74 of the 130 points contested.
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th