Taiwan’s Latisha Chan yesterday picked up where she left off at the end of last season as she cruised into the quarter-finals at the Brisbane International, but it was not an encouraging start to the season for younger sister Chan Hao-ching.
Top seeds Latisha Chan, who had previously played on the WTA Tour using her Chinese name, Chan Yung-jan, and new partner Andrea Sestini Hlavackova took just 58 minutes to defeat Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands and Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 6-3, 6-0 in their season opener.
The Taiwanese world No. 1 and Czech world No. 5 saved three of four break points and converted six of nine, winning 53 of the 87 points contested to advance to a quarter-final against Nadiia Kichenok and Anastasia Rodionova, after the Ukrainian-Australian pairing rallied from a set down to oust Chan Hao-ching and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 10-6 in 1 hour, 32 minutes.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
In the singles, Andy Murray’s long-term hip injury forced him out of the tournament, cast serious doubt over his participation in the Australian Open and had him contemplating surgery.
Former world No. 1 Murray pulled out of the Brisbane event after failing to practice yesterday, two days ahead of his scheduled return to competitive tennis for the first time since July last year.
“I came here with every intention of making a strong start to the year, but sadly my team and I don’t feel that I’m where I need to be just yet to compete at the highest level,” the two-time Brisbane International champion said in a statement.
His withdrawal was confirmed hours after Garbine Muguruza, the Wimbledon champion and women’s top seed, retired from her opening match because of leg cramps.
Muguruza fell to the court behind the baseline and had treatment on her legs before retiring from her opening match against Aleksandra Krunic while leading in the third set.
Krunic rallied from 5-2 down in the second set, forcing the third in a tiebreaker, and earned a spot in the quarter-finals with a a 5-7, 7-6 (7/3), 1-2 retired result after almost two-and-a-half hours in humid conditions on Pat Rafter Arena.
“I don’t really cramp a lot, so I’m actually surprised that today my body was like that,” Muguruza said, adding that her calf muscles started to cramp early in the second set.
In other second-round matches, fifth seed Johanna Konta rallied from a set down to defeat Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-1, 6-4; seventh seed Anastasija Sevastova cruised past Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-1; and Alize Cornet beat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-1, 7-5.
The Brisbane International had been Muguruza’s only scheduled tuneup event before the first major of the season gets under way in Melbourne on Jan. 15.
The 30-year-old Murray is also undecided, planning to stay in Brisbane for a few days before deciding whether or not to contest the Australian Open or fly home.
“Obviously, continuing rehab is one option and giving my hip more time to recover,” Murray wrote in an Instagram post. “Surgery is also an option, but the chances of a successful outcome are not as high as I would like which has made this my secondary option and my hope has been to avoid that.”
In men’s first-round matches yesterday, US qualifier Michael Mmoh beat Federico Delbonis 6-3, 6-4; Chung Hyeon upset fifth seed Gilles Muller 6-3, 7-6 (7/1); Kyle Edmund rallied for a 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 win over Denis Shapovalov; and Denis Istomin beat seventh seed Damir Dzumhur 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-2.
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