Serena Williams yesterday survived a scare from France’s Aravane Rezai before booking her spot in the Sydney International final against Russian Elena Dementieva.
The Australian Open champion was teetering on the brink of defeat after losing the first set and trailing 5-2 in the second but she raised her game to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
While Williams had to dig deep, Dementieva had no real problems winning her semi-final against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Dementieva cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory at the Olympic tennis center to remain on course to defend her title.
France were at least assured of a place in the men’s final after Richard Gasquet and Julien Benneteau won their last-eight matches.
Gasquet, who resumed playing this month after being cleared over a positive cocaine test, defeated Italy’s Potito Starace 6-3, 7-6 and Benneteau beat Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-4, 6-7, 6-0.
PHOTO: AFP
Former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus also reached the semi-finals by beating Australian Lleyton Hewitt 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. He next meets American Mardy Fish, who overcame Australia’s Peter Luczak 7-6 6-2.
■KOOYONG CLASSIC
PHOTO: EPA
AFP, MELBOURNE
US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro yesterday pulled out of his final tune-up match prior to the Australian Open, citing a wrist injury.
His withdrawal was mirrored by Robin Soderling, who quit a semi-final trailing 6-4 against Ivan Ljubicic to avoid doing himself more elbow damage ahead of the season’s opening Grand Slam.
The Del Potro decision puts Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga into tomorrow’s final against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco, who beat Novak Djokovic 6-1, 6-2.
■HOBART INTERNATIONAL
REUTERS, SYDNEY
Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues recovered from a loss of concentration yesterday to secure her place in the semi-finals of the Hobart International, one of the last events before the Australian Open.
The top seed defeated Argentina’s Gisela Dulko 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 to set up a meeting with Alona Bondarenko today after the Ukrainian fourth seed defeated China’s Zheng Jie 7-5, 7-5.
Unseeded Sara Errani of Italy also progressed to the last four by beating Belgian qualifier Kirsten Flipkens 6-3, 6-4.
Errani will play second seed Shahar Peer after the Israeli beat Spanish fifth seed Carla Suarez Navarro 4-6, 7-6, 7-5.
■HEINEKEN OPEN
AFP, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Giant American John Isner yesterday called on every centimenter of his 206cm frame yesterday to upset Tommy Robredo in their Heineken Open quarter-final. The unseeded American fired 20 booming aces and a powerful barrage of ground strokes to down the world No. 16 with a 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-4 victory.
Isner will play Albert Montanes in today’s semi-final after the eighth seed had a relatively easy 6-3, 6-3 victory over Swiss qualifier Michael Lammer.
Arnaud Clement beat sixth-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-2, 7-5. The 32-year-old world No. 67 will face a semi-final clash against 2008 Auckland champion Philipp Kohlschreiber, who defeated Marc Gicquel 6-3, 6-1.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
UP IN SMOKE: More than half a dozen riders crashed out of the race, with Marquez’s title chances in doubt after driving off the track with flames flickering from his bike Jorge Martin yesterday won a crash-filled Indonesia MotoGP to extend his championship lead, while closest rival Francesco Bagnaia limited the damage by claiming the final podium place. The win leaves the Pramac Racing rider 21 points ahead of his Italian Ducati rival, who finished third behind Spaniard Pedro Acosta in sweltering conditions at the Mandalika International Street Circuit on Lombok island. In front of a crowd of 60,000 in motorbike-mad Indonesia, the 26-year-old put his tumble in Saturday’s sprint behind him, canceling out the gains his title rival Bagnaia made after securing victory in that race. “Thank you Indonesia. I am very happy.
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