Chan Yung-jan narrowly missed out on a rare Taiwanese appearance in a Grand Slam final at the US Open on Wednesday, while Kei Nishikori stunned Andy Murray to reach the semi-finals of the men’s singles.
Chan and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia lost a hard-fought mixed doubles semi-final 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 to Laura Siegemund of Germany and Mate Pavic of Croatia in 1 hour, 38 minutes on Court 17 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
“Even though we stopped at semis but still a great run, thanks to Nenad for playing together, I had a lot of fun!! Till next year,” Chan wrote on Facebook.
Photo: Jerry Lai, USA Today
Siegemund and Pavic hit 35 winners and converted four of 10 break points, winning 76 of the 145 points contested to advance a final against seventh-seeded US duo Coco Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram, who ousted Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Robert Farah of Colombia 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in 1 hour, 28 minutes in their semi-final.
In the men’s singles, Nishikori held his nerve in a gripping final set to move two wins away from becoming the first Asian man to capture a Grand Slam singles title.
The Japanese star clinched a dramatic 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 comeback triumph in a shade under four hours against the Wimbledon and Olympic champion.
In tomorrow’s semi-final, the 26-year-old is to take on Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka, who defeated tearful Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Wawrinka, who had to save a match point in his third-round clash with Dan Evans, is playing in a third US Open semi-final in four years.
Tomorrow’s other semi-final will see defending champion Novak Djokovic take on 10th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils.
“It was one of my toughest matches mentally and physically. Juan Martin’s an incredible player,” Wawrinka said.
In a match which featured 17 breaks of serve, Nishikori prevailed for only his second win in nine matches against world No. 2 Murray.
His win came just three weeks after losing to Murray in the Olympic semi-finals.
“It was a really difficult match. I didn’t start well. I felt it was really quick and I was missing too much,” said Nishikori after reaching only his second Slam semi-final after his runner-up spot in New York in 2014. “In the fourth and fifth sets I think I played some of the best tennis.”
In the women’s singles, world No. 1 Serena Williams fended off a spirited Simona Halep, downing the fifth-seeded Romanian 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals.
Williams, seeking a record seventh US Open title and 23rd Grand Slam crown, fired 18 aces en route to the triumph, which set up a meeting with first-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Karolina Pliskova for a place in Saturday’s final.
After surviving a match point en route to a fourth-round victory over Williams’ sister Venus, Pliskova beat 18-year-old Croatian Ana Konjuh 6-2, 6-2.
“I’m so excited to be in my first semi-final,” said the 24-year-old, who had failed to make it out of the third round in 17 previous Grand Slam appearances.
Konjuh, the 18-year-old who is projected to rise from 92nd in the world to 51, could not be disappointed with her efforts.
“I cannot be sad after all of this,” Konjuh said. “When I came here I could only imagine playing the quarters. I think it’s been a great tournament.”
Meanwhile, the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) was looking into a match after irregular betting patterns were detected, but the US Tennis Association said it was confident nothing nefarious had taken place.
The alert came after Swiss 15th seed Timea Bacsinszky’s 6-1, 6-1 victory over Russia’s Vitalia Diatchenko on Tuesday last week.
“We are aware of the alert and at this point it is a matter for the Tennis Integrity Unit,” US Tennis Association spokesperson Chris Widmaier said. “We certainly have full confidence in the TIU to follow up properly and quickly regarding this matter. That being said, all betting alerts need to be properly investigated, but in this situation we are fairly confident that nothing nefarious has happened here, but the TIU will undergo its normal process to ensure that there is no suspicious activity here.”
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just