Former world No. 1 Venus Williams, resplendent in a floral dress and pink dreadlocks, showed glimpses of her old power by blasting past German Mona Barthel 6-3, 6-1 to reach the second round of the Pan Pacific Open yesterday.
No longer the force of old and only 62nd in the world, the 33-year-old American still had too much firepower for Barthel in Tokyo, taking just 63 minutes to sweep past her 34th-ranked opponent.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles winner faces an uphill task to extend her stay, however, with top seed Victoria Azarenka — runner-up to Serena Williams at the US Open earlier this month — her next opponent.
Ninth seed Sloane Stephens, one of the new generation of American players, who once claimed the Williams sisters refused to sign an autograph for her at a tournament in Florida when she was 12, thrashed Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the second round.
In other matches, twice major winner Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia flattened Argentine qualifier Paula Ormaechea 6-1, 6-2, while 14th-seeded Belgian Kirsten Flipkens was tested in a 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 win over Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.
Fifteenth seed Sorana Cirstea started the US$2.3 million event with a routine 6-4, 6-4 victory over Julia Goerges.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
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