Taiwanese second seed Hsieh Su-wei yesterday took just 73 minutes to see off the challenge of Mandy Minella and advance to her fourth WTA Tour quarter-final of the season at the Japan Women’s Open in Hiroshima.
World No. 40 Hsieh, the highest ranked player in the tournament, saved five of six break points and converted four of six, winning 66 of the 113 points contested in a lopsided 6-3, 6-2 victory over the world No. 139 from Luxembourg.
“I was feeling a little bit tight on the court. It was not easy for me to get into the game at the beginning,” Hsieh told the WTA Web site. “I think she was a little bit tight today too … and I’m happy that I was doing better after a few games and started to hit the ball better.”
The Taiwanese No. 1 rallied from 0-40 down in the final game, saving four break points before converting her first match point to advance to a quarter-final against Australian fifth seed Ajla Tomljanovic, who defeated Zhu Lin of China 7-5, 6-4 in 1 hour, 39 minutes on Wednesday.
“I [have] never played Ajla before. I think she’s a great player and I practiced with her a few years ago,” Hsieh said. “She hits the ball great and she serves great, I think it’s going to be a very tough match. I think I need to be a little bit more relaxed for the next match and it will help me to get into it better.”
In yesterday’s other second-round matches, Chinese top seed Zhang Shuai, the world No. 41, defeated Japanese wild-card Nao Hibino 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) and Chinese fourth seed Wang Qiang beat Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand 7-5, 6-3.
Defending champion Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan, the sixth seed, rallied from a set down to defeat Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 7-5, while Polish eighth seed Magda Linette ousted Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek 6-5, 7-6 (7/3) and Slovakia’s unseeded Anna Karolina Schmiedlova rallied from a set down to defeat Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Taiwanese shortstop Cheng Tsung-che on Friday made history for the Boston Red Sox’s Triple A affiliate, hitting the Worcester Red Sox’s first cycle, while netting two runs, as they beat fellow Taiwan teammate Stuart Fairchild’s Columbus Clippers. The 24-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect went 4-4, completing a full cycle, starting with a triple in the second inning off Ryan Webb in the WooSox’s 9-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians’ Triple A affiliate. He scored in the same inning after teammate Vinny Capra, a fellow former Pirate, grounded out. The Pingtung County native followed that up with a walk in the third, an
RSS