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.
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.
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.
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
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
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
Arsenal stormed six points clear at the top of the English Premier League as Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres put Fulham to the sword in a 3-0 win, while West Ham United’s defeat at Brentford offered Tottenham Hotspur a lifeline in the battle for survival. The Gunners have stumbled toward the finish line in their quest for a first league title in 22 years, blowing a sizeable lead over Manchester City in a series of nervous displays. However, the return of Saka, making his first start in six weeks, freed up Mikel Arteta’s men in a dominant performance that shrugged
RSS