Taiwan’s Chan sisters are to contest two of the finals at the US Open in New York after Chan Yung-jan and Martina Hingis on Friday advanced to the final of the women’s doubles, while younger sister Chan Hao-ching and Michael Venus claimed a berth in the mixed doubles final.
Second seeds Chan and Hingis ousted fourth seeds Sania Mirza of India and Peng Shuai of China 6-4, 6-4 in 1 hour, 27 minutes on Grandstand Court at Flushing Meadows.
The Taiwanese-Swiss duo saved eight of 10 break points and converted four of seven, hitting 44 winners to set up a final against seventh seeds Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova, who upset fellow Czechs and third seeds Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova 6-2, 7-5 in 1 hour, 33 minutes.
Photo: AP
“It was a tough one,” Hradecka told the WTA Web site. “It’s never easy in the semis or even the first round to play fellow Czechs, but I think we’re happy to make it through in two sets because the second set we lost momentum. Maybe that was my mistake because I called the physio after the first set. That might have made us less awake and caused a few mistakes.”
Chan and Hingis claimed their first title as a pairing when they defeated the Czech duo in the BNP Paribas Open final in Indian Wells, California, in March and Hradecka was looking for revenge.
“It will be a tough match, but we know each other and we’ve played well in all the matches we’ve played against them,” Hradecka said. “We might not have finished them as well, so I think we’ll be even more hungry to win on Sunday.”
In the mixed doubles semi-finals, Chan Hao-ching and Venus took 1 hour, 11 minutes to see off Anastasia Rodionova of Australia and Oliver Marach of Austria 6-1, 7-6 (8/6).
The third seeds saved three of six break points and won five of 10, hitting 32 winners to set up a final against top seeds and reigning Wimbledon champions Hingis and Jamie Murray of Britain, who ousted Coco Vanderweghe of the US and Horia Tecau of Romania 6-4, 7-6 (10/8) in 1 hour, 30 minutes.
“I told Jamie he carried me pretty much throughout the match for a set and a half. I got broken [at 4-3 in the second set] and said: ‘Maybe it’s really time to play now.’ He did great,” Hingis told the tournament Web site. “There’s nothing nicer than actually fighting to be in the final, so I’m pretty happy we managed to get through.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB