Taiwan’s Chuang Chia-jung and her doubles partner Darija Jurak of Croatia on Saturday defeated Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu 2-6, 6-4, 10-8 to advance to the second round of the Madrid Masters.
The Taiwanese-Croatian duo struggled to find their form in the first set, but came back stronger in the second and third to claim the victory in 1 hour, 28 minutes on the clay court.
“We turned it around!” Chuang wrote on Facebook after the match.
Photo: Courtesy of Chuang Chia-jung’s Facebook page
“In the first set we just could not find our rhythm. We were all over the place,” she said. “In the second set we concentrated on each and every ball. We got our rhythm back, and things improved. In the third set, we settled down more. Our opponents got nervous, so we were able to win.”
Chuang and Jurak next face Switzerland’s Martina Hingis and India’s Sania Mirza, who had a bye in round one.
Chuang won her first WTA Tour doubles title of the year and the 22nd of her career at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February.
In the women’s singles, Sara Errani lost in the first round for the third time this season, losing 7-5, 7-5 to Camila Giorgi.
The 15th-seeded Errani was broken seven times in the all-Italian match. She had already been defeated in the first round at the Australian Open and in Brisbane, but was coming off a semi-final appearance in Charleston.
Also on Saturday, 12th-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine defeated Yanina Wickmayer of Germany 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
Algeria on Sunday became the third country after Egypt and Nigeria to qualify for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations by edging Burkina Faso 1-0 in Rabat through a Riyad Mahrez penalty. Defending champions Ivory Coast failed to join the trio after drawing 1-1 with Cameroon in a lively showdown in Marrakesh. Elsewhere, Mozambique ended a 39-match wait for a first victory by beating Gabon 3-2, while Sudan got back into contention for a last-16 slot by beating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Casablanca. Captain Mahrez converted from the penalty spot midway through the first half and Algeria then held on
RSS