The Chan sisters put in a double shift on Wednesday at the rain-hit Aegon International in Eastbourne, England, to reach the semi-finals of the doubles, while Agnieszka Radwanska relied on a steady serve and a solid game to beat Eugenie Bouchard and advance to the quarter-finals of the singles in a battle of former Wimbledon finalists.
Second seeds Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan took just 50 minutes to advance to the quarter-finals with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 victory over Sara Errani of Italy and Oksana Kalashnikova of Georgia in the first round of the doubles.
The Taiwanese sisters did not face a single break point and converted four of eight, winning 48 of the 80 points contested to advance to a tricky quarter-final against Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears.
Photo: Screengrab from Facebook
The Taiwanese duo returned to the grass courts at Devonshire Park later on Wednesday and fought back from a set down to complete a 4-6, 6-2, 10-8 victory over the American duo in 1 hour, 29 minutes.
The second seeds saved three of six break points and converted four of eight, winning 66 of the 120 points contested to advance to the semi-finals. It was the sisters’ second win over the Americans in Eastbourne after a first-round victory in 2014 on their way to lifting the title.
In today’s semi-final, the Taiwanese face fourth seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova after the Hungarian-Kazakh duo ousted Chinese pairing Xu Yifan and Zheng Saisai 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 in 1 hour, 39 minutes in their quarter-final.
In the other side of the draw, top seeds Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Sania Mirza of India fell to a shock 6-3, 6-3 quarter-final loss to Darija Jurak and Anastasia Rodionova. The Croatian-Australian duo are due to face the winners of yesterday’s remaining quarter-final between Russian third seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina and Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic.
In the singles, Radwanska’s 6-3, 6-3 victory saw the top-seeded Pole, last year’s losing finalist, improve to a perfect 4-0 record over Bouchard, who played for the Wimbledon title two years ago, but whose ranking has taken a slide from the top 10 to No. 48.
“I was serving pretty good, that helps in this kind of match,” said world No. 3 Radwanska, who lost early a week ago on the grass in Birmingham at the start of her Wimbledon build-up. “In the important moments I was serving good. Every match like this gives you a lot of confidence. It’s easier afterwards in the end of the tournament or going to the Grand Slams. I’m just very happy with that win and with the game.”
Radwanska is competing on the south coast for the 10th time and on Wednesday won in 62 minutes as she dominated her Canadian opponent.
She was next due to face 12th seed Dominika Cibulkova, a winner over Kateryna Bondarenko 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 and who came from a break down in the opening set.
Qualifier Monica Puig defeated 2009 champion Caroline Wozniacki 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Puig of Puerto Rico and ranked 43rd in the world, battled through a two-and-a-quarter-hour contest against the former world No. 1.
The 22-year-old double-faulted on the first of two match points, but completed the job at Devonshire Park in style with an eighth ace.
“Finishing with an ace is the best way to go. I hope I can keep this up. I’m excited for the next round and ready for whatever comes up,” Puig said. “I thought I was in trouble quite a few times. She makes you work for every single point, so it was really up to me to stay very focused in my game plan and what I wanted to accomplish.”
Wozniacki, ranked 37th, missed the clay-court season with an ankle injury, but had reached the semi-final in her past three appearances in Eastbourne.
“You don’t climb Mount Everest in one day,” Wozniacki said. “I played really well. I’m happy with that. The ankle, the body’s feeling good. I’m pleased with that.”
Two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, was upset by Eastbourne local Johanna Konta, who produced a fightback victory over the fifth seed 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, while Russia’s Vesnina beat Madison Brengle 7-6 (7/2), 6-4.
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