Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday stunned another former world No. 1 to advance to the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the world No. 31’s second semi-final of this year.
Hsieh overcame a second-set rally by Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova and fought back from 5-1 down in the third set to complete a 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 victory in 1 hour, 59 minutes on Center Court at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.
Pliskova fired down nine aces, but the Taiwanese No. 1 saved nine of 13 break points and converted four of eight, winning 67 percent of points on her first serve to give her a 1-1 career record against Pliskova following a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7/4) defeat in Miami last year.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“[Pliskova] serves really big,” Hsieh said after the victory. “She makes ace almost every game. It was not easy to come back.”
“I say [to] myself: ‘OK, if she [does] not ace me, I hit [the] ball, hit so much harder than before, then she cannot hit a winner,’” Hsieh added.
It was Hsieh’s second consecutive victory over a former world No. 1 after her third-round 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 win over German fifth seed Angelique Kerber on Wednesday.
She is next to face second seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, who defeated Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova 6-4, 6-0.
“They haven’t played yet, so I will send my spy to watch [the] match,” Hsieh said after her match, which preceded the Czech’s victory.
In the second round of the doubles late on Wednesday, Taiwanese ninth seeds Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan rallied from a set down to outlast Kuzmova and Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 10-3 in 1 hour, 31 minutes.
The Taiwanese sisters saved three of six break points and converted five of 10, winning 77 of the 140 points contested to set up a quarter-final against Darija Jurak of Croatia and Raluca Olaru of Romania.
OPEN 13 PROVENCE
Taiwan’s Hsieh Cheng-peng, who is mourning after the death of his girlfriend, yesterday crashed out of the quarter-finals of the doubles at Open 13 Provence in Marseille, France.
Hsieh Cheng-peng and partner Christopher Rungkat of Indonesia fell to a 6-3, 6-2 defeat to third seeds Ben McLachlan of Japan and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands in 52 minutes.
The Taiwanese, who is the younger brother of Hsieh Su-wei and won the Wimbledon boys’ doubles title in 2008, learned that his girlfriend, Chang Heng-mien, had been killed on the eve of his first-round match in France on Wednesday.
Chang had just set foot on a crosswalk when a bus allegedly knocked her down and drove over her in front of Chinese Culture University in Taipei’s Shilin District on Tuesday.
Chang was rushed to Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital for treatment, but was declared dead two hours later.
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