The Chan sisters yesterday eased into the quarter-finals of the doubles at the Wuhan Open, while fellow Taiwanese Hsieh Su-wei fell to a shock defeat in her opening doubles match on the hard courts in China.
Sixth seeds Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan took just 62 minutes to complete a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 victory over Anna Blinkova of Russia and Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic.
The Taiwanese duo failed to save the single break point they faced, but converted four of eight, winning 80 percent of points on their first serve and 70 percent on the second to advance to a quarter-final against fourth seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands, who defeated Sofia Kenin of the US and Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-4, 3-6, 12-10.
Photo: AFP
The Taiwanese sisters defeated Groenefeld and Schuurs on the way to two of their four titles this season — in the final in Doha and the round-of-16 in Eastbourne, England — but have also suffered two defeats — the semi-finals in Rome and the round-of-16 in Birmingham, England.
Top seeds Hsieh and Barbora Strycova fell to a 6-4, 2-6, 13-11 upset defeat to Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine and Abigail Spears of the US in 1 hour, 31 minutes in their second-round match after receiving a bye in the first round.
In the singles, Wimbledon champion Simona Halep was left disappointed after suffering a fresh injury setback that forced her to retire from the tournament with a back problem.
Halep said the problem that caused her to quit her third-round match felt different to the herniated disc she had suffered at the China Open in Beijing a year ago, which brought an early end to her season.
“It’s lower back. I think it’s more muscle, but I don’t know yet because I haven’t checked it properly,” Romanian two-time Grand Slam champion Halep said.
The world No. 6 led Elena Rybakina by a break and looked on her way to win the first set before her Kazakh opponent drew level.
During the changeover after the ninth game, Halep took a medical timeout for treatment to her back, but soon after the former world No. 1 retired while serving at 4-5, 30-30.
“At 4-4, 0-30 with the backhand, I had a sharp pain,” Halep said. “I don’t know yet, but it looks a little bit different [to the injury I had before], but it’s still the same zone. I started to play well this tournament. I’m disappointed it happened again with the back.”
Halep remains in contention for one of the remaining six spots at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, China, and is uncertain how her injury will affect the rest of her season.
She is entered in the China Open, which begins in Beijing on Saturday.
World No. 50 Rybakina advanced to her fifth quarter-final of the season against ninth seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who defeated Dutch sixth seed Kiki Bertens 6-1, 7-6 (11/9).
ZHUHAI CHAMPIONSHIPS
AFP, ZHUHAI, China
Nick Kyrgios yesterday served underarm once again, but the fiery Australian fell away dramatically in the second set in a limp first-round exit at the Zhuhai Championships.
The 24-year-old Australian, who has been accused of tanking matches in the past, led veteran Italian Andreas Seppi 4-1 in the first set, only to go down 7-6 (7/5), 6-1.
Kyrgios, who has had numerous run-ins with tennis authorities over the years, elicited a few giggles from a sparse crowd in southern China with an underarm serve in the first set.
Coasting 3-1 and 40-0 up, the 27th-ranked Kyrgios served weakly into the net, before surging into a 4-1 lead.
However, the Australian, who then appeared to be troubled by his right shoulder, faded alarmingly from there and his previously dominant serve collapsed.
He repeatedly felt his shoulder and his game disintegrated as he went down in the first-set tiebreak.
The second set was a non-contest as 35-year-old Seppi, ranked 74th in the world, strolled into round two in 65 unpredictable minutes.
Kyrgios has divided tennis by serving underarm in the past, although it is within the rules, albeit rare to see from professionals.
The Australian firebrand has said that he deploys it for tactical reasons, but Spanish legend Rafael Nadal has accused him of “lacking respect” by doing it.
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