Serena Williams and James Blake put in a pair of pulsating performances at the Hopman Cup yesterday to oust champions Spain from the mixed team contest.
Dazzling in a vibrant orange outfit, Williams threw off the challenge of Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-3, 6-3 before Blake pasted Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-0.
The pair then teamed up to grind Spain into the ground 6-1, 6-4 in the mixed doubles.
The rustiness displayed by both players in their opening matches two days ago was a distant memory as the duo ran roughshod over the hapless holders.
"What a difference a day makes, eh?" smiled Blake after his razor-sharp victory.
For Robredo -- champion here 12 months ago with the now-retired Arantxa Sanchez Vicario -- it was a first defeat in six matches at the Perth event while Ruano Pascual is yet to record a victory in the A$1 million (US$563,400) event.
The US whitewashed Uzbekistan 3-0 in their opening match while champions Spain were pipped 2-1 by Belgium.
Williams insisted there was better to come.
"I haven't begun to play my best at all -- there's still some way to go," she smiled. "I'm sure everyone is excited to hear that."
Next up for Williams is a clash with Belgium's Kim Clijsters, her conqueror in last year's season-ending WTA Championships.
Clijsters' surprise win in Los Angeles was her first against Williams in six matches and she now hopes she has the formula to beat Serena and her elder sister world number two Venus on a regular basis.
Williams, though, says that November defeat was merely a blip, and she plans to makes amends tomorrow.
"I've been looking forward to playing her ever since I came here," the world number one said. "Last time I played her I was so tired. Mentally I was shot and physically I was dead ... I had no energy."
"This time it is different."
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
DAY OF BLOWOUTS: Elsewhere, the Lakers clinched the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 pounding of the under-strength Houston Rockets The Denver Nuggets on Friday improved their playoff position, with a triple double from Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Serbian put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds. The triple-double performance, his 34th this season, ensured that he will finish the regular season as just the third NBA player to average a triple double across an entire season. The win meant the Nuggets improved to 49-32 on the season and gave them a real chance of grabbing fourth place and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon top scored with 33 points for Denver,
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