The Chan sisters’ bid to cement a spot at the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore got off to the worst possible start in Tokyo yesterday when they crashed out of the first round of the doubles at the Pan Pacific Open.
Top seeds Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan, sixth in the WTA Tour’s Road to Singapore rankings, fell to a 1-6, 6-4, 10-5 comeback victory by Chinese duo Liang Chen and Yang Zhaoxuan in 69 minutes.
The Taiwanese duo saved two of five break points and converted five of nine, winning 55 of the 108 points contested, but it was not the result the sisters were looking for a day after Hao-ching celebrated her 23rd birthday.
Photo: AP
The Chans are 870 points ahead of ninth-ranked Chinese duo Xu Yifan and Zheng Saisai in the rankings, with the top eight pairings qualifying for the season-ending championships from Oct. 23 to Oct. 30.
The Taiwanese duo were not the only seeds to come unstuck in the Japanese capital yesterday, with fourth-seeded Slovenian duo Andreja Klepac and Katarina Srebotnik falling to a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain.
Second seeds Sania Mirza of India and Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic also suffered a scare, losing the first set on the way to a tight 6-7 (3/7), 7-5, 10-8 victory over Japanese duo Misaki Doi and Kurumi Nara.
In the singles, Ukrainian world No. 20 Elina Svitolina ousted Coco Vandeweghe of the US 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour, 34 minutes to improve her record over the American to 3-0.
Also advancing were sixth seed Dominika Cibulkova, seventh seed Petra Kvitova, eight seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Caroline Wozniacki, Anastasija Sevastova, qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Strycova and qualifier Magda Linette.
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,
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
Supermaxis Master Lock Comanche and defending champions LawConnect yesterday continued their close duel on the second day of the 80th running of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Just over 27 hours into the race that began on Friday in Sydney Harbour and is to end on the island state of Tasmania, Comanche had a 4 nautical mile (7.4km) lead over LawConnect. LawConnect was forced to contend with a broken mainsheet and halyard overnight, but fixed both issues and remained in pursuit of Comanche, which is skippered by Matt Allen and James Mayo. “We had a few things slow us down and Comanche’s
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