The Chan sisters yesterday cruised into the second round of the doubles at the China Open, while Wimbledon champion Simona Halep suffered a shock defeat in the second round of the singles.
Sixth seeds Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan crushed Chinese duo Duan Yingying and Zheng Saisai 6-1, 6-1 in 62 minutes on the hard courts at the National Tennis Center in Beijing.
The Taiwanese sisters saved all five break points they faced and converted five of 10, winning 53 of the 83 points contested to advance to a second-round clash with Japanese duo Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara, who defeated Anna Blinkova of Russia and Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday.
The Chans are looking to join fellow Taiwanese Hsieh Su-wei and Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic in the top eight doubles teams at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen later this month.
The Taiwanese sisters are fifth in the Race to Shenzhen rankings with 4,145 points.
Halep was beaten by Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, with the Romanian appearing to struggle with a back injury.
The 28-year-old lost 6-2, 6-3 in 64 minutes to bring her tournament to an early end.
World No. 5 Halep was far from her best as she went down meekly to world No. 38 Alexandrova.
She was also forced out of last week’s Wuhan Open because of her troublesome back.
Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu had to dig deep as she won her first match since her US Open heroics.
The 19-year-old rising star defeated world No. 60 Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 in what was at times an unconvincing performance, finishing the match with 31 unforced errors.
The world No. 6, who stunned Serena Williams in the final at Flushing Meadows in New York, arrived in Beijing on a run of 13 consecutive wins.
She looked all set to carry on her blistering form against Sasnovich and emphatically captured the first set, but Andreescu struggled with her serve in the second, totting up six double faults, and was in danger of losing her cool in the haze of the Chinese capital.
Normal order was restored in the deciding set, Andreescu breaking Sasnovich’s first service game and then holding her own to take a 3-0 lead, an advantage she refused to surrender.
In the second round the Canadian sensation faces Elise Mertens, the Belgian world No. 23.
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
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
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
RSS