Latisha Chan yesterday cruised into the women’s doubles final at the Sydney International, in which the Taiwanese world No. 1 and partner Andrea Sestini Hlavackova are to face a duo who advanced without having to hit a ball.
Chan, who previously played on the WTA Tour using her Chinese name, Chan Yung-jan, and Czech Sestini Hlavackova took just 61 minutes to complete a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 victory over Lara Arruabarrena of Spain and Lauren Davis of the US in their semi-final on Court 1 at Sydney Olympic Park.
The top seeds did not face a single break point and converted three of 10, winning 60 of the 101 points contested.
In today’s final, they face third seeds Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Xu Yifan of China, who were handed a walkover when second-seeded Czech duo Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova withdrew without hitting a shot.
In the singles, Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi continued her impressive run by racing past Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday to set up a last-four clash with Angelique Kerber.
Giorgi, belying her ranking of 100th in the world, beat US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the first round and then ousted two-time Wimbledon and former Sydney champion Petra Kvitova.
She is yet to drop a set over six matches in qualifying or the main draw, and is next to meet world No. 22 Kerber, who staged a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Dominika Cibulkova in the last eight.
Former world No. 1 Kerber fell out of the top 20 last year, but has made a strong start to this year ahead of next week’s Australian Open with victories over Lucie Safarova and Venus Williams this week.
The other semi-final in Sydney is to be an all-Australian affair between Ashleigh Barty and Daria Gavrilova.
Barty completed a confident 6-3, 6-2 victory over Czech Barbora Strycova, while Gavrilova advanced after her last-eight opponent, Garbine Muguruza, withdrew due to a leg injury.
“I think it’s amazing for Sydney and for Australian tennis — we’re gonna have an Aussie in the final, which is awesome,” Barty said after her win at the Ken Rosewall Arena. “Dash [Gavrilova] and I know each other very well so hopefully we can play some good tennis.”
France’s Kevin Aymoz snatched the men’s title at Skate America on Saturday, winning his first grand prix title with a battling free skate, while short program leader Kazuki Tomono faltered. It was an emotional triumph for Aymoz, who made his grand prix level debut in 2017, with seven prior podium finishes, but no gold. He had struggled with a painful foot injury since a disappointing 10th-place finish at Skate Canada last month. “It was so difficult,” the 28-year-old said. “After Skate Canada I wanted to give up so much and today I’m here and it’s so beautiful to be with my friends competing
A start-up’s entry into prediction market trading is raising fresh questions about the involvement of NBA owners in sports betting. The start-up, Mojo Interactive Inc, was cofounded by Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, the owners of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Lynx. Mojo has started trading on the outcome of sports games on the prediction market exchange Kalshi, an arrangement that is now being reviewed by the NBA. Mojo began trading event contracts tied to sports during the NFL season this fall, according to Mojo CEO Vinit Bharara. Mojo has yet to trade on any NBA games, Bharara said in
Nigeria’s soccer coach has accused the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) of practicing “voodoo” after his squad’s hopes of qualifying for next year’s FIFA World Cup ended in a penalty shoot-out loss in the African playoff final. DR Congo and Nigeria drew 1-1 after extra-time in the tie in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday and the central Africans won 4-3 on penalties to book a place in inter-confederation playoffs in Mexico in March next year. In his post-match remarks to journalists, coach Eric Chelle said a member of the DR Congo team “did some voodoo, every time, every time, every time.” “That
PORTUGAL LOSE: Ronaldo was sent off in their defeat for elbowing an Ireland player, while England, who are already qualified, defeated Serbia 2-0 to stay perfect Kylian Mbappe and France on Thursday booked a berth at next year’s FIFA World Cup, but Cristiano Ronaldo might be banned from Portugal’s first game there if his team finally win their European qualifying group. Two goals from star striker Mbappe helped two-time champions France to qualify with a 4-0 home win against Ukraine, but Ronaldo was ejected for the first time in his international career and Portugal have to wait until tomorrow to secure a qualifying spot for the seventh straight time after they were stunned 2-0 by Ireland in Dublin. Midfielder Michael Olise and substitute forward Hugo Ekitike added the
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