Taiwanese No. 1 Hsieh Su-wei yesterday survived a scare to advance to the quarter-finals of the singles at the Tianjin Open in China, where she was joined by top seed Karolina Pliskova and fourth seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Fifth seed Hsieh survived a second-set fightback by Russian world No. 122 Veronika Kudermetova in their second-round match to post a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 victory in 1 hour, 39 minutes on the hard courts at the Tianjin Tuanbo International Tennis Center.
The Taiwanese world No. 30 saved two of seven break points and converted seven of 16, winning 87 of the 161 points contested to even her career record against the Russian after a straight-sets loss on the clay courts in Stuttgart, Germany, in April.
Hsieh next faces either Slovakian qualifier Jana Cepelova or Belgian third seed Elise Mertens, who are due to play their second-round match today.
Pliskova took just 50 minutes to see off Slovenian world No. 77 Polona Hercog 6-1, 6-2.
“I think I was quite good today,” Pliskova told the WTA Web site. “I was feeling good, I was serving pretty well. I didn’t lose my serve, which I think was important.”
Czech world No. 6 Pliskova saved the only break point she faced and converted four of five, improving her career record over Hercog to 4-1 in their first clash since 2015.
“I’m just happy that I didn’t spend that much time on the court today, and I can rest a little bit and prepare for my next match,” Pliskova said.
Sabalenka also cruised into the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Polish world No. 84 Magda Linette in 1 hour, 13 minutes.
The victory kept the Belarussian’s hopes of a spot at the WTA Finals in Singapore alive, although she would have to lift the trophy this week to have a chance.
“I was thinking I need to win this tournament, but at the moment I don’t care about Singapore,” Sabalenka told the WTA Web site. “I’m saying to myself, it doesn’t matter; you’re 20 years old, you will have a lot of chances to go there.”
In yesterday’s other second-round match, Croatian sixth seed Petra Martic rallied from a set down to oust Chinese world No. 150 Liu Fangzhou 1-6, 6-0, 6-1 in 1 hour, 23 minutes.
At the ATP Shanghai Masters, Alexander Zverev defeated red-hot Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-5, 6-4 to reach the last 16.
Zverev is next to play Australia’s world No. 33 Alex de Minaur.
De Minaur, 19, defeated France’s Benoit Paire 6-4, 6-3.
Additional reporting by AFP
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday sparked defending champions Oklahoma City to victory, while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA’s best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. “We locked in defensively. We were finally able to get some stops,” Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins said. “We were able to get out in transition a little bit, get going offensively and find the flow.” Jalen Williams scored 18 points, while
RSS