Elder sister Chan Yung-jan on Thursday prevailed in a showdown of sisters at the US Open, as the Taiwanese and Martina Hingis of Switzerland took just 63 minutes to see off the challenge of younger sister Chan Hao-ching and Zhang Shuai of China 6-2, 6-2 at Flushing Meadows in New York.
In an emotional quarter-final on Court 17, the second seeds saved two of three break points and won five of 11, hitting 23 winners to advance to the semi-finals of the final Grand Slam of the year.
“It was really tough for me, definitely one of the toughest matches in my career,” Chan Yung-jan told the WTA Web site. “We know each other too well and know everything we want to do on the court.”
Photo: AFP
“It was very emotional during the match, but after the match, she’s still my sister,” she said. “It’s still great to be able to play her in the quarter-finals of such a big event. I tried to bring out my best tennis today and my partner helped me quite a bit.”
“At the end of the day, we did our job,” Hingis told the WTA Web site.
“It wasn’t easy for Latisha [Chan Yung-jan] to play her sister and waiting for the match for three days wasn’t simple,” she said of the rain delays that canceled the match on more than one occasion. “You keep getting ready and then once the match happens you have to bring your ‘A’ game. Under the circumstances, we did our best and played really good. The score at the end shows the result and that’s what matters.”
Photo: AFP
Chan and Hingis, who qualified for the year-ending WTA Finals in Singapore earlier in the tournament, next face fourth seeds Sania Mirza of India and Peng Shuai of China, who defeated fifth seeds Timea Babos of Hungary and Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 in 1 hour, 56 minutes in the first match on Court 17.
“I always look forward to these types of matches, because they’re the greatest you can play,” Hingis said of the clash against her former partner Mirza. “They earned their spot in the semi-final and we all deserve to be there. I’m hoping for a good match tomorrow. I’ve already played Sania ... a few times, so it’ll probably be easier than having to play your sister. I can only imagine how it is because I don’t have one.”
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