Taiwanese No. 1 Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the second round of the women’s singles at the French Open at Roland Garros yesterday, while controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios overcame a code violation to advance in the men’s singles as the second Grand Slam of the year got off to a damp, chilly start.
Kaohsiung-born world No. 83 Hsieh hit 36 winners, including a backhand winner on match point, on her way to a 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 victory over Spanish world No. 78 Lara Arruabarrena on Court 14.
The Taiwanese saved just one of five break points, but she converted six of 13, winning more than 64 percent of points on her first serve and 72 of the 131 points contested to set up a second-round clash with two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
Photo: EPA
Czech 10th seed Kvitova survived a scare to beat Danka Kovinic of Montenegro 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
Kvitova was two points away from defeat when she trailed the world No. 57 at 4-5 in the decider, but she claimed the next three games.
Kvitova, a semi-finalist in Paris in 2012, committed 10 double faults in a typically roller-coaster display against an opponent who made the Istanbul final on clay this season.
Russian 24th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was the first player into the second round thanks to a 6-2, 6-0 win over Spanish qualifier Sara Sorribes Tormo.
In the men’s singles, Kyrgios overcame a first-set code violation to defeat Italy’s Marco Cecchinato 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.
The 17th seed picked up the warning for screaming at a ball boy on a shivering Court One where the temperature refused to budge above 15?C.
Kyrgios insisted he only screamed at the youngster during the first-set tiebreak because he wanted his towel and needed to make his voice heard.
He then accused umpire Carlos Ramos of “unbelievable bias” for dishing out the violation.
However, Kyrgios recovered his composure to see off world No. 124 Cecchinato and set up a second-round clash against Dutch lucky loser Igor Sisjling.
The 21-year-old Australian fired 16 aces and 50 winners on his way to victory as he attempts to go beyond his best performance in Paris — a third-round exit to Andy Murray 12 months ago.
This year’s Roland Garros is being played with security ramped up in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Paris in November last year.
Storylines of Novak Djokovic, celebrating his 29th birthday yesterday, chasing an elusive first title or Serena Williams looking to equal Steffi Graf’s modern-day record of 22 Grand Slam singles victories were on hold.
The first challenge for the organizers was to keep the daily crowds of 30,000 fans safe and sound, a task which was fairly straightforward until last year when another of the city’s showpiece sports venues, the Stade de France, was targeted by suicide bombers.
“Security is at the heart of our priorities and it will be reinforced,” tournament director Guy Forget said. “There will be a double security perimeter with only three entry points. We cannot afford to take the slightest risk.”
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