Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska moved to within one step of retaining her Pan Pacific Open title yesterday, overwhelming Angelique Kerber with a dominant performance in the semi-finals.
The Polish third seed, who defeated 2010 champion Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the quarter-finals, needed just 59 minutes to score a resounding 6-1, 6-1 victory over the German fifth seed.
In the final today, Radwanska plays Nadia Petrova of Russia, who defeated eighth seed Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-4, 6-2.
Photo: AFP
“Actually, we played before a couple of times and it was always tough. Even though it was 6-1, 6-1, it was still a very tough match. I really had to run a lot to win the match,” Radwanska, 23, said. “She is a very smart player, she mixed up a lot of shots and she is a lefty, so it’s always hard. I really had to stay focused from the beginning till the end to win the match. Actually, I’m very happy that I played my best tennis.”
Kerber, who received a free ticket to the semi-finals after world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus withdrew due to fatigue, struggled to hold her service games throughout the match.
The German, who broke her opponent in the third game of the first set, had to wait until the first game of the second set to hold her serve for the first time, hitting two aces in a row at 30-0, but that was the most she could do.
Kerber, who double-faulted twice to give a 30-40 match point to Radwanska in the seventh game, tenaciously saved three match points against her, but Kerber then hit a backhand return wide to surrender the match on Radwanska’s fourth match point.
Looking ahead to the match against 17th seed Petrova, Radwanska said: “For sure, she is a very good player and she is playing great tennis this week.”
“It’s going to be tough, for sure, it will not be easy. I’m just very, very happy that I reached the final again. Of course, I’ll do everything tomorrow to have the title,” she said.
Meanwhile, Petrova pulled off an early break in each set and never faced a serious situation in the 107-minute match.
“It was really a good match,” Petrova said. “Samantha played very well, she defeated Maria [Sharapova of Russia], one of the top players right now, but I had a good performance and I’m very happy that I served out at the end.”
For the first time in almost 36 years, a Parisian derby will be played in French soccer’s top flight when reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain FC take on the nouveau riche Paris Football Club (PFC) today. Not one of the players involved in today’s match — PFC’s 38-year-old third-choice goalkeeper Remy Riou is almost certainly not going to be involved — was born the last time there was a Parisian derby in Ligue 1. That was on Feb. 25, 1990, when Moroccan midfielder Aziz Bouderbala scored a brace as Racing Paris 1 beat PSG 2-1 at the Parc des Princes home that
BOUNCING BACK: Antetokounmpo had just returned from an eight-game injury absence last month, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their third win in four games Giannis Antetokounmpo threw down the game-winning dunk with 4.7 seconds remaining to lift the Milwaukee Bucks to a 122-121 victory over the Charlotte Hornets and grab a slice of NBA history on Friday. The Bucks trailed by as many as 16 on their home floor, but Antetokounmpo scored 12 of his 30 points in the final quarter to help seal the win in a frantic finish that saw five lead changes in the final 45.7 seconds. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) added 10 rebounds and five assists. It was his 158th regular-season game with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and
Stan Wawrinka’s 40-year-old legs did not let him down over three-plus hours in his first singles match of a farewell tour yesterday. Three-time Grand Slam singles champion Wawrinka beat Arthur Rinderknech of France, who is ranked 29th to Wawrinka’s 157th, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). The match went 3 hours, 16 minutes. Wawrinka last month announced that this year would be his last on the ATP tour. “Today was a tough battle ... it’s amazing to come here for the first time, to have so much support,” Wawrinka said yesterday. “Twenty years on tour, you kind of always play in the same place
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka yesterday got her season off to a winning start for Japan in the United Cup, after the UK’s Emma Raducanu pulled out of their singles clash with a fitness issue, while in Brisbane, Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and Wu Fang-hsien crashed out of the women’s doubles. In Perth, despite Osaka’s win, the UK took the match 2-1 with a deciding mixed doubles victory. Osaka was too strong for reserve and 276th-ranked Katie Swan, winning 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 as Raducanu watched from the sidelines. “I’m proud of how I fought,” Osaka said. “I’d never played here, it was tough.” Britain
RSS