Mihaela Buzarnescu on Sunday won her first WTA title by cruising through the women’s singles final of the Silicon Valley Classic, while Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic made short work of their women’s doubles final.
The 30-year-old Buzarnescu dominated first-time finalist Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-0, losing 19 points and needing just 73 minutes to wrap up the final.
“I was able to take all the emotions away and keep focused, and try to take it as a normal match, not as a final,” Buzarnescu said.
Photo: AFP
Greek Sakkari, 23, had proven capable of dramatic comebacks after stunning Venus Williams and Danielle Collins on her way to the final, but there would be no magical turnaround on Sunday.
Buzarnescu won the first five games in less than 20 minutes before Sakkari got on the board.
“It was not easy. I woke up and I was still tired from yesterday, but she was very good today,” said Sakkari, who incurred 34 unforced errors.
Photo: AP
Buzarnescu, who a year ago was No. 142 in the world, will rise to 20th in the updated rankings.
“Maybe people will look differently at me now, but I don’t want to change anything — just think of the good moments, and play,” said Buzarnescu, who lost in two finals this year.
In the women’s doubles final, first seeds Latisha Chan of Taiwan and Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic dispatched third-seeded Ukrainian twins Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok 6-4, 6-1.
Additional reporting by staff writer
CITY OPEN
AFP, WASHINGTON
Defending his ATP Citi Open title on Sunday showed growing in strength and maturity, world No. 3 Alexander Zverev said, but added that he still saw a big gap to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The 21-year-old German won his third title of the year and the ninth of his career by defeating Australian teen Alex De Minaur 6-2, 6-4 in the 50th edition of the US Open tuneup event.
“What a fantastic week for me,” Zverev said. “Winning a tournament on its 50th anniversary is something amazing. [Defending a title] feels great and shows mental strength as well. It shows a little maturity, I think.”
De Minaur, who took only 11 points off Zverev’s serve, could somewhat agree after falling in 74 minutes.
“I did everything I could to recover,” De Minaur added. “I’ll have to get better at it and my body will adjust to the circumstances.”
Zverev, who needed a fifth-set Davis Cup tie-breaker to beat De Minaur in their only prior meeting, broke twice to win the first set in 30 minutes. He smacked a forehand winner to break for a 2-1 edge and held serve to the finish.
In the Citi Open women’s singles final, Svetlana Kuznetsova fended off four match points on her way to a 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 win over Czech Donna Vekic.
It took a remarkable comeback by the 2014 champion to win an 11th consecutive match in the US capital and secure her 18th career title.
“There’s something going on in Washington,” Kuznetsova said. “I’ve been here two times and I’ve never lost.”
The Russian’s previous WTA title came at the Kremlin Cup in 2016 and she looked set to miss out on adding another Washington crown to her resume when she miscued a backhand into the net to give Vekic a third match point at 6-5 in the second set.
Kuznetsova crushed a forehand return winner to level at 6-6, but a Vekic forehand set up a fourth match point at 7-6, only for the Croat to hit a makeable forehand wide on the next point.
That saw the tide turn, as Kuznetsova’s defense brought out errors from seventh seed Vekic and the Russian took the next two points to win the tiebreak 9-7.
Kuznetsova then swept to a 5-0 lead in the deciding set with her eighth ace of the match, and she claimed victory when Vekic hit a forehand wide.
Additional reporting by AFP
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
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
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
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care