Fri, Jul 14, 2017 page16

• One Chan advances, one exits

  HIP CHECK: Murray and Djokovic both hobbled to their defeats in the men’s singles, with Murray denying his hip injury was to blame and Djokovic considering a break

  • By Dave Carroll / Staff reporter, with Reuters and AP, LONDON
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  Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at Wimbledon, while elder sister Chan Yung-jan fell to a shock defeat in the quarter-finals on the grass courts in southwest London.

  Ninth seeds Chan Hao-ching and Monica Niculescu took just 66 minutes to see off Catherine Bellis of the US and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4 on Court 3 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

  The Taiwanese-Romanian duo saved one of the two break points they faced and converted three of five, winning 65 of the 116 points contested to advance to a semi-final against Makoto Ninomiya of Japan and Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic, who defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia and Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-4, 6-4 in 72 minutes on Court 12.

  

  Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan returns during her women’s doubles match with partner Martina Hingis against Kveta Peschke and Anna-Lena Gronefeld at Wimbledon in London on Wednesday.

  Photo: AFP

  Third seeds Chan Yung-jan and Martina Hingis were stunned 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 by 12th seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic in the final match on Centre Court in 2 hours, 9 minutes.

  The Taiwanese-Swiss duo converted six of 12 break points and won 101 of the 201 points contested, but it was not enough, despite their opponents sending down eight double faults.

  In the semi-finals, Groenefeld and Peschke take on Russian second seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, who defeated Australian eighth seeds Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 on Court 2.

  

  Novak Djokovic winces just before retiring injured on Wednesday during his match against Tomas Berdych on day nine of Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London.

  Photo: AP

  In the men’s singles, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic were ousted.

  Murray’s hopes of becoming the first Briton to retain a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry in 1936 were shredded as he hobbled helplessly to a 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (7/4), 6-1, 6-1 defeat.

  While Murray said his hip injury was not to blame for his exit, three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker told the BBC that the Scot’s movement was clearly affected.

  “He has got to think long term, not worry about making the US Open. If he is moving there like he did at Wimbledon, then he won’t win it anyway,” Becker said. “His ranking should not be a concern either. Again, he will not defend it if he is not healthy, so he should just forget it. He has been there and done it and he does not have to prove anything anymore that he is good enough to be No. 1.”

  Meanwhile, Djokovic is considering a break from tennis, with surgery on his injured right elbow now a possibility.

  The 12-time Grand Slam champion, who has won three Wimbledon titles, retired from his quarter-final against Tomas Berdych on Wednesday.

  He said his elbow has been giving him problems for a year and a half.

  “It’s not a time and place for me to talk about the details,” Djokovic said after pulling out while trailing 7-6 (7/2), 2-0. “I’m just going to talk with specialists, as I have done in the last year or so, try to figure out what’s the best way to treat it and to solve it, to find a long-term solution.”

  At the end of his news conference, speaking in Serbian and translated through an interpreter, Djokovic alluded to the fact he could end up taking a long break.

  That would be a first for Djokovic, who has been one of the best players on tour for about a decade.

  “The specialists that I’ve talked with, they haven’t been really too clear, mentioning also surgery, mentioning different options. Nobody was very clear in what needs to be done,” Djokovic said. “Yeah, I guess the break is something that I will have to consider right now.”

  In the other quarter-finals, Marin Cilic beat Gilles Muller 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-5, 5-7, 6-1, while Roger Federer produced a straightforward 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Milos Raonic, the man who beat him in last year’s semi-finals.
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