Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the second round of the Istanbul Cup on Tuesday after rallying from a set down to oust Italy’s Karin Knapp, while the WTA announced that next year’s Taiwan Open is to be moved from Kaohsiung to Taipei.
Kaohsiung-born world No. 81 Hsieh defeated world No. 72 Knapp 6-7 (3/7), 7-5, 6-1 at the Garanti Koza Arena in 2 hours, 23 minutes.
The Taiwanese No. 1 saved 10 of 13 break points and converted seven of 10, winning 109 of the 207 points contested to set up a second-round clash against world No. 127 Maria Sakkari of Greece, who stunned top seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia 6-2, 6-3.
Third seed Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine also fell at the first hurdle in a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Romanian qualifier Sorana Cirstea, while eighth seed Johanna Larsson of Sweden survived a second-set wobble to down Ukrainian qualifier Maryna Zanevska 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5). Ukrainian seventh seed Kateryna Bondarenko had to rally from a set down to oust Olga Govortsova of Belarus 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Also advancing were Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria, Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia, Hungarian qualifier Reka-Luca Jani, Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey and Slovakian qualifier Kristina Kucova.
Meanwhile, the WTA announced on Tuesday that next year’s Taiwan Open is to be staged at the Taipei Arena on Jan. 30.
Venus Williams won the singles title at the inaugural event staged at the Yang-Ming Tennis Center in Kaohsiung during the Lunar New Year holiday this year, while Taiwanese sisters Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan claimed the doubles title.
“On behalf of the Taipei City Government, I am pleased to announce that Taiwan Open will be held in Taipei next year,” Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je told the WTA Web site. “We are committed to bringing the best events to our global city and the decision to move the event to Taipei demonstrates the city’s ability to attract the best international sport events. We look forward to working with the WTA and the tournament organizers to make this an event all of Taiwan can be proud of.”
The organizers said the move to Taipei would result in increased sponsorship and government investment, hopefully making the tournament accessible to a much larger fan base.
PORSCHE GRAND PRIX
AP, STUTTGART, Germany
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova swept past qualifier Luisa Chirico 6-0, 6-0 to reach the second round of the WTA Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Kvitova needed only 55 minutes to dismiss the American, winning 17 of 19 first-serve points. The Czech also faced only one break point.
Ana Ivanovic of Serbia rallied to beat German qualifier Carina Witthoeft 7-6 (7/3), 6-0. Ivanovic was down a break and the German served for the first set, but could not hold and her game collapsed.
Two other Germans advanced to the second round of the indoor clay tournament with straight-set wins.
Annika Beck beat “lucky loser” Camila Giorgi 6-4, 6-2 and qualifier Laura Siegemund defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-0, 7-5, coming back from a break down in the second set.
Giorgi had replaced Italian countrywoman Sara Errani, who pulled out with a right-leg injury.
Seventh-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain defeated Oceane Dodin of France 6-3, 6-0.
For the first time in almost 36 years, a Parisian derby will be played in French soccer’s top flight when reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain FC take on the nouveau riche Paris Football Club (PFC) today. Not one of the players involved in today’s match — PFC’s 38-year-old third-choice goalkeeper Remy Riou is almost certainly not going to be involved — was born the last time there was a Parisian derby in Ligue 1. That was on Feb. 25, 1990, when Moroccan midfielder Aziz Bouderbala scored a brace as Racing Paris 1 beat PSG 2-1 at the Parc des Princes home that
BOUNCING BACK: Antetokounmpo had just returned from an eight-game injury absence last month, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their third win in four games Giannis Antetokounmpo threw down the game-winning dunk with 4.7 seconds remaining to lift the Milwaukee Bucks to a 122-121 victory over the Charlotte Hornets and grab a slice of NBA history on Friday. The Bucks trailed by as many as 16 on their home floor, but Antetokounmpo scored 12 of his 30 points in the final quarter to help seal the win in a frantic finish that saw five lead changes in the final 45.7 seconds. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) added 10 rebounds and five assists. It was his 158th regular-season game with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and
Stan Wawrinka’s 40-year-old legs did not let him down over three-plus hours in his first singles match of a farewell tour yesterday. Three-time Grand Slam singles champion Wawrinka beat Arthur Rinderknech of France, who is ranked 29th to Wawrinka’s 157th, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). The match went 3 hours, 16 minutes. Wawrinka last month announced that this year would be his last on the ATP tour. “Today was a tough battle ... it’s amazing to come here for the first time, to have so much support,” Wawrinka said yesterday. “Twenty years on tour, you kind of always play in the same place
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka yesterday got her season off to a winning start for Japan in the United Cup, after the UK’s Emma Raducanu pulled out of their singles clash with a fitness issue, while in Brisbane, Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and Wu Fang-hsien crashed out of the women’s doubles. In Perth, despite Osaka’s win, the UK took the match 2-1 with a deciding mixed doubles victory. Osaka was too strong for reserve and 276th-ranked Katie Swan, winning 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 as Raducanu watched from the sidelines. “I’m proud of how I fought,” Osaka said. “I’d never played here, it was tough.” Britain
RSS