Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan and doubles partner Martina Hingis reached the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the the Internazionali BNL d’Italia yesterday.
The Taiwanese-Swiss pairing defeated Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia and Abigail Spears of the US 6-2, 6-4 to stay on track for back-to-back titles after winning the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday last week.
In the men’s draw, third seed Stanislas Wawrinka became the latest high-profile casualty at on Thursday when the Swiss was knocked out in the third round by John Isner of the US, who also defeated Marin Cilic in the first quarter-final, which finished just before press time last night.
Photo: AFP
Isner took his ace count to 72 in three rounds as he powered past Wawrinka on Thursday 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.
He then battled into the semis yesterday with a 7-6 (7/3), 2-6, 7-6 (7/2) win over sixth seed Cilic.
Croatian Cilic defeated David Goffin 6-3, 6-4 in their quarter-final.
World No. 2 Novak Djokovic continued to look more like his old self after a slump as he saw off Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut 6-4, 6-4 on Court Centrale to reach the quarters for an 11th successive year.
He was to play Juan del Potro in the quarter-finals yesterday.
Favorite Rafael Nadal’s imperious start to the clay-court season continued as he maintained his unbeaten streak on the surface this year with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 13th-seed Jack Sock of the US.
He was to play Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals, which began just after press time last night, with the Austrian having become a familiar foe after two previous meetings in the past three weeks.
Earlier there was disappointment for home fans as Fabio Fognini, who beat top seed Andy Murray on Tuesday, was outplayed 6-3, 6-3 by Germany’s Alexander Zverev.
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
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Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
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