Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan yesterday advanced to the doubles final at the Wuhan Open, while unseeded Ashleigh Barty upset eighth seed Jelena Ostapenko to reach the singles final.
Top seeds Chan and Martina Hingis won a hard-fought semi-final against third seeds Sania Mirza of India and Peng Shuai of China 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 in 1 hour, 48 minutes on Center Court at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center in Wuhan, China.
The Taiwanese-Swiss duo saved seven of 12 break points and converted six of 13, winning 73 of the 138 points contested to advance to today’s final against Shuko Aoyama of Japan and Yang Zhaoxuan of China after they were handed a walkover when Australian fourth seeds Barty and Casey Dellacqua pulled out of the second semi-final, with Barty citing fatigue.
Photo: AFP
Aoyama and Yang progressed through the quarter-finals on Thursday when Russian second seeds Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova retired in the first set.
Chan and Hingis, who won the US Open title earlier this month, are looking to claim their eighth title of the season.
Regardless of the result of the final, Hingis is set to replace Lucie Safarova at the top of the WTA Tour doubles rankings on Monday.
Photo: AFP
In the singles, Barty took 1 hour, 14 minutes to defeat Latvian Ostapenko 6-3, 6-0.
World No. 37 Barty saved one of the two break points she faced and converted five of 10, winning 61 of the 98 points contested, as French Open champion and world No. 10 Ostapenko saw her winning streak in Asia come to an end after winning her second career title in Seoul on Sunday.
In the final, Barty faces French world No. 20 Caroline Garcia, who defeated Greek qualifier Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour, 19 minutes.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just