Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan yesterday began their year with a defeat in the first round of the doubles at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, on a day that also saw fellow Taiwanese Chang Kai-chen exit the Shenzhen Open.
The second-seeded Chan sisters fell to a 7-5, 3-6, 10-5 defeat to Kirsten Flipkins of Belgium and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in their opening match of the season.
The Taiwanese duo saved six of 11 break points and converted five of 13, winning 70 of the 136 points contested, but it was not enough.
There was also an upset in the singles in Auckland as world No. 2 Serena Williams slumped to a 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 defeat to fellow American Madison Brengle.
“I really think I played — I’m trying to think of a word that’s not obscene — but that’s how I played,” Williams told the WTA Web site. “Eighty-eight unforced errors is too much, just way too many.”
The result was a surprise, as Brengle won just a single game in their only previous encounter in Madrid in 2015.
In the second round of the Shenzhen Open, Taiwanese qualifier Chang was routed 6-1, 6-2 in just 47 minutes by Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic.
There was better news in the first round of the ATP Tour’s Chennai Open on Tuesday, as eighth seed and Taiwanese No. 1 Lu Yen-hsun cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Radu Albot of Moldova in 63 minutes.
Lu was due to face Russian world No. 99 Daniil Medvedev in the second round yesterday.
Nottingham Forest FC are to go into the Europa League play-off round after a 4-0 win over Ferencvaros TC on Thursday, while Celtic FC secured their place in the knockout phase with a victory over FC Utrecht. Aston Villa FC finished second in the league phase after recovering from two goals down to beat FC Red Bull Salzburg 3-2 with their spot in the last 16 already assured. Forest stood an outside chance of climbing into the top eight going into the final round of matches, but needed to beat Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros and rely on other results going their way. Sean Dyche’s
HEATED RIVALRY: The pair had met 14 times previously, with Sabalenka winning eight of the encounters and entering the final as the favorite to take the title Elena Rybakina took revenge over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win a nail-biting Australian Open final yesterday and clinch her second Grand Slam title. The big-serving Kazakh fifth seed held her nerve to pull through 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne in 2 hours, 18 minutes. It was payback after the Belarusian Sabalenka won the 2023 final between two of the hardest hitters in women’s tennis. The ice-cool Rybakina, 26, who was born in Moscow, adds her Melbourne triumph to her Wimbledon win in 2022. It was more disappointment in a major final for Sabalenka, who won the US Open
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
Denver superstar Nikola Jokic returned from a 16-game injury absence to post a 31-point, 12-rebound double-double on Friday and propel the Nuggets to a 122-109 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic had not played since suffering a bone bruise in the left knee he hyperextended in a game against Miami on Dec. 29 last year. The Serbian big man did not miss a beat. He led all scorers, connecting on eight of 11 shots from the field, and also handed out five assists with three steals while playing just 24 minutes, 32 seconds as the
RSS