Taiwanese third seeds Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan yesterday suffered a disappointing start to the season at the Brisbane International, falling to a 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 first-round defeat to Karolina Pliskova and Donna Vekic in 1 hour, 18 minutes.
The Chan sisters, who claimed four doubles titles last season — Hobart, Australia; Doha; Eastbourne, England; and Osaka, Japan — saved 10 of 13 break points and won three of six, but were let down by a second service on which they only won 37 percent of their points as they exited on the opening day of their season.
The Taiwanese sisters will be hoping to get back in the groove next week when they return to Hobart as the defending champions in a field that is set to feature two former world No. 1s — Latisha Chan and Sania Mirza — as well as reigning Australian Open women’s doubles champion Zhang Shuai of China.
Photo: AFP
COCO GAUFF CRUISES
Teen sensation Coco Gauff yesterday started the year in dominant form at the Auckland Classic.
The American was unflustered by two double faults as she negotiated a blustery wind in her opening service game against last year’s semi-finalist Viktoria Kuzmova.
She recovered to hold serve and then immediately broke Kuzmova on her way to taking the first set 6-3, before racing through the second 6-1 to wrap up the match in 61 minutes.
“Playing in the wind was a bit tough. I’m just glad I got through it,” said Gauff, who impressed with four aces, while winning four out of four break points and saving three out of three.
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
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