Women’s world No. 1 Zhou Mi of Hong Kong crashed out of the Japan Open yesterday in the first round when she was beaten by the unfancied Adriyanti Firdasari.
The Masters Final champion and top seed, who played for China previously, suffered a shock 21-17, 18-21, 21-18 defeat to the Indonesian, ranked 20th in the world.
Zhou put the loss down to lack of fitness — and the air conditioning at the indoor Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
PHOTO: AFP
“It was difficult in the first game to get used to the wind and its direction. I managed to take the second game, but physically I’m tired in the third game,” said Zhou. “I’m not physically in good form recently. I’ve been playing recently to find out in what aspect I must improve.”
It was Firdasari’s first win over Zhou in three meetings.
In the second round today, Firdasari will play Nicole Grether of Germany, winner over Japan’s Megumi Taruno 21-19, 21-12.
Eighth seed Saina Nehwal of India joined Zhou as a surprise early casualty, losing to Jiang Yanjiao of China 21-15, 21-23, 21-14, but China’s Wang Lin and Wang Yihan, Pi Hongyan of France and Tine Rasmussen of Denmark went through safely.
Men’s world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia brushed aside Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana 21-9, 21-15, showing no ill effects from an old knee injury.
“For sure he is a tough opponent. I just tried to keep myself calm and play my game,” said Lee, title winner in Seoul in 2007.
Other top players including Athens Olympic gold medalist Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, compatriot and defending champion Soni Dwi Kuncoro, Peter Gade of Denmark and last year’s Asian champion Park Sung-Hwan of South Korea also won.
Fourth seed Hidayat beat Chan Yan-kit of Hong Kong, fifth seed Kuncoro beat Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand and third seed Gade outgunned Rajiv Ouseph of England, all in straight games.
Park needed 52 minutes to beat Wong Choong Hann of Malaysia 16-21, 21-13, 21-12, while this year’s Asian champion, Bao Chunlai of China, downed Hong Ji-hoon of South Korea 23-21, 21-16.
It was not a good day for Taiwanese, as Hsieh Yu-hsing lost 21-18, 21-6 to Simon Santoso of Indonesia, while Wong Mew Choo of Malaysia beat Cheng Shao-chieh 21-9, 16-21, 21-14.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
RSS