Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Barbora Strycova yesterday advanced to the doubles final at the Brisbane International, while world No. 2 Karolina Pliskova is to defend her singles title today after edging Naomi Osaka in an epic three-set semi-final.
Reigning Wimbledon champions Hsieh and Strycova defeated unseeded Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine and Yang Zhaoxuan of China 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in 1 hour, 28 minutes to advance to today’s final at the Queensland Tennis Centre.
The Taiwanese-Czech duo got off to another slow start at Pat Rafter Arena, falling behind 5-2 in the first set before rallying and then breaking Kichenok has she served for the set to set up a tiebreaker.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
The top seeds then raced to a 5-0 lead in the decider, with back-to-back volleys by Strycova securing the set.
The second set proved much easier for the favorites, with Strycova serving out to love to complete the victory.
The top seeds failed to save the two break points they faced, but converted three of nine, winning 11 of 14 points on their second service to set up a final against home favorite Ashleigh Barty and Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, who received a walkover in the semi-finals when their opponents withdrew on Thursday.
In the singles, Pliskova triumphed 6-7 (10/12), 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 over Osaka in 2 hours, 48 minutes and is to face eighth seed Madison Keys of the US in the final.
She was forced to come from a set down, then save a match point at 5-6 in the second, before seeing off the reigning Australian Open champion.
The two are no strangers to long matches against each other — Osaka edged Pliskova 6-4 in the third set in the Australian Open semi-finals last year on her way to the title.
“That was one of the best matches that I’ve played on this court,” Pliskova said. “It was a great standard and she’s always tough to play against. I think I did a good job to stay in there after a tough first set, and in the second I just kept fighting and it paid off.”
In the first semi-final, Keys held firm when it counted to defeat two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
ASB CLASSIC
AP, AUCKLAND, New Zealand
Jessica Pegula yesterday upset former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki to set up a final against top seed Serena Williams.
The daughter of Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula came from a set down to beat Wozniacki 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the Dane’s penultimate tournament before retirement.
“Caroline has had an amazing career and I know she’s retiring so I had to work really hard, but I’m just happy to get the win and I’m pleased to be in the final,” Pegula said. “I definitely knew if I was going to play defensive I wasn’t going to win that battle because she’s the best in the world at that. So I knew I just had to step in and take my chances, and just trust my game.”
The crowd had barely recovered from the shock of Pegula’s victory when Williams joined her in today’s final after she took just 45 minutes to overwhelm third-seeded fellow American Amanda Anisimova 6-1, 6-1.
Anisimova was not born when Williams won the first of her 23 Grand Slam titles and had dreamed of one day playing the superstar, but she met Williams in her most dominant form.
“I was definitely in the zone today,” Williams said. “It was just one of those days. I knew I was playing a really, really great player and an even better person, so I knew I had to come out serious. It feels good. I’ve been working really hard for a couple of years — my daughter’s only two — and I seem to be really hard on myself, but considering everything, it’s really good.”
SHENZHEN OPEN
AFP, SHENZHEN, China
Ekaterina Alexandrova yesterday won her first WTA Tour singles title after the in-form Russian defeated Elena Rybakina in straight sets in the final of the Shenzhen Open.
The fifth seed won 6-2, 6-4 in 73 minutes to begin her season with a bang in southeastern China.
The 25-year-old, ranked a career-high 34th in the world, collapsed to her knees after dismissing Rybakina, the seventh seed from Kazakhstan.
“I didn’t expect the first set to be so easy, so I knew the second set would be so much tougher,” Alexandrova said. “In the second set I think she played well, but after I got the break to make it 4-4, she got a bit nervous. It feels amazing to win my first title, I don’t know what to say. The first title is always special.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB