Taiwanese eighth seed Hsieh Su-wei on Monday rallied from a set down to oust Kaia Kanepi in the opening round of the Internationaux de Strasbourg, while top seed Ashleigh Barty stepped up her French Open preparations with a ruthless display to cruise past Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum 6-4 6-4.
World No. 49 Hsieh had to fight back after losing the first set and took 2 hours, 14 minutes to complete a 2-6, 7-6, 6-2 victory over the Estonian world No. 51.
The Taiwanese mixed four aces with 10 double faults, saving seven of 12 break points and converting six of 13 to improve her career record over Kanepi to 3-1 after losing her previous match to the Estonian at last year’s US Open.
Hsieh faces Czech wild-card Lucie Safarova in the second round after the world No. 54 defeated Russian qualifier Marina Melnikova 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
Safarova has a 4-0 career record against Hsieh, including victories last season in Nottingham, England, and Budapest.
Australian No. 1 Barty struck 24 winners and saved both break points she faced to seal her victory in 1 hour, 15 minutes.
The 22-year-old’s win set up a second-round encounter with in-form Istanbul Cup winner Pauline Parmentier, after the home favorite overcame China’s Wang Yafan 6-4, 7-6 (10/8).
“I’ve never played her before, but I know it’s probably the complete opposite game style to who I played today,” world No. 17 Barty said.
“For me, it’s another challenge. It’s always very tough playing French players in their country,” she said.
In the doubles, Taiwanese world No. 1 Latisha Chan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals, while younger sister Chan Hao-ching fell to a shock defeat on Monday.
Latisha Chan and Kumkhum defeated Liang Chen of China and Jessica Moore of Australia 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) in 1 hour, 32 minutes.
The Taiwanese-Thai duo saved three of six break points and converted four of eight, winning 74 of the 129 points contested to advance to a quarter-final against Makoto Ninomiya of Japan and Yana Sizikova of Russia, who stunned second seeds Shuko Aoyama of Japan and Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.
Top seeds Chan Hao-ching and Yang Zhaoxuan of China fell to a shock 3-6, 6-4, 10-2 loss to unseeded Romanians Mihaela Buzarnescu and Raluca Olaru.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
Logan O’Hoppe, Taylor Ward and Matthew Lugo homered, and the Los Angeles Angels spoiled Clayton Kershaw’s season debut, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 on Saturday night to take the first two games of the three-game series. Kershaw allowed three runs and threw 38 pitches in the first inning. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner lasted four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Shoulder, toe and knee injuries limited Kershaw to seven games last season, and his 2025 debut was delayed as he recovered from multiple offseason surgeries. O’Hoppe had two hits with