World No. 1 Naomi Osaka yesterday defeated Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei 6-4, 6-3 in her first clay-court match of the season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
US and Australian Open champion Osaka, who lost to Hsieh in Miami last month, secured a place in the quarter-finals against Croatia’s Donna Vekic.
The 21-year-old Japanese broke Hsieh three times to beat her for the second time in three attempts this year, having also defeated her on the way to lifting the title in Melbourne.
Hsieh on Wednesday came from behind to defeat China’s Wang Qiang in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to set up a second-round clash with Osaka, whom she beat in Miami last month.
Each of Osaka’s three previous meetings with world No. 24 Hsieh had gone to three sets.
Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, who defeated Osaka at Indian Wells last month, also advanced to the second round after overcoming Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella in straight sets.
There were also straight-sets victories for Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka over Russia’s Vera Zvonareva and for Croatian Donna Vekic against Italian Giulia Gatto-Monticone.
Former world No. 1 Azarenka admitted that jet lag had been a major problem, as she had flown in from Australia where she had played in a Fed Cup tie in Brisbane over the weekend.
“I have no idea right now of the time or what’s happening,” Azarenka said. “The flight from Australia was so long I felt like it was never going to end.”
There was disappointment for the home crowd when Germany’s Julia Goerges was forced to retire hurt 4-0 down in the third set against Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova after complaining of a problem with her hand.
Pavlyuchenkova is to face eighth seed Anett Kontaveit, after the Estonian eased past France’s Caroline Garcia in straight sets.
Third seed Petra Kvitova had already advanced to the last eight after working hard in the second set to complete a 6-1, 6-4 win over Belgian qualifier Greet Minnen.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and