Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan earned a ticket to the mixed doubles semi-finals at Wimbledon on Friday, joining her compatriot Hsieh Su-wei.
Eight-seed Chan and partner Daniel Nestor of Canada first defeated the 11th-seeded duo of Russia’s Nadia Petrova and her partner Mark Knowles of the Bahamas in straight sets 7-6 (8/6), 6-2 in the third round, before coming back later in the day to down the 14th-seeded team of Zimbabwe’s Cara Black and India’s Leander Paes 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-finals.
The 21-year-old Chan said she was able to manage the physical challenge of playing two matches in one day, after her third round match was postponed from Thursday.
“I have an experienced partner who taught me a lot on the court. I felt safe with him. With him around, I could play without any hesitation because I know he would do what it took to play effectively with me,” Chan said.
“I am glad I found a great partner. Because of him, I am confident about our next match,” Chan added.
Earlier in the day, 25-year-old Hsieh and her Australian partner Paul Hanley rallied back to beat the sixth-seeded Indian duo of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 and also advanced to the semi-finals.
“The more we play, the better tacital understanding we have,” Hsieh said after the victory.
When asked whether she was confident about advancing to the finals, Hsieh said: “I don’t think that far. Right now, I’m only focused on my play and using my all strength to play.”
If both Taiwanese players win their semi-final matches, they would square off against each other in the finals.
Chan and Hsieh are the only Asian female players left in the mixed doubles contest.
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