Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei crashed out of the Japan Women’s Open in the first round yesterday as her poor run of form in the singles continued in Osaka.
Hsieh was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic in 1 hour, 18 minutes.
World No. 67 Hsieh won only 51 percent of her first serves, while world No. 108 won 78 percent and converted five of nine break-point chances to wrap up the victory.
Young British hope Laura Robson also crashed out yesterday to forty-something Kimiko Date-Krumm in another triumph for the Japanese player’s evergreen career.
Date-Krumm, playing just days after her 43rd birthday, won 6-4, 6-4 against the 19-year-old seventh seed, her second notable scalp of recent weeks after she beat Maria Kirilenko in Seoul.
The seemingly ageless Japanese reached the third round at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year as she continues to defy the march of time.
The result dashes British hopes after defending champion Heather Watson, whose victory last year was the first WTA Tour title in 24 years for a British woman, went out on Monday.
China’s Zhang Shuai, who won her first WTA Tour title last month in Guangzhou, China, underlined her current form when she ousted experienced Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-0, 6-3, but local hope Ayumi Morita took only three games off Thai qualifier Luksika Kumkhum as she fell 6-2, 6-1 at the first hurdle.
Elsewhere, German second seed Sabine Lisicki put out South Africa’s Chanelle Scheepers in straight sets and Vania King of the US upset Italian fourth seed Flavia Pennetta.
Sixth seed Madison Keys of the US beat Slovakian qualifier Anna Schmiedlova as she also reached the second round.
Hsieh and her younger sister, Hsieh Shu-ying, are scheduled to play a second-round doubles match against second seeds Kristina Mladenovic of France and Italy’s Flavia Pennetta on Court 1 today.
GENERALI LADIES
AP, LINZ, Austria
Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland won the last eight games to beat Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 5-7, 7-5, 6-0 on Monday and advance to the second round of the Generali Ladies.
Voegele failed to serve out the second set at 5-3 as Zakopalova leveled at 5-5, but the 58th-ranked Swiss player did not concede another game after that. Zakopalova lost her serve eight times and saved 19 more break points.
The result ended Voegele’s seven-match winless streak on the WTA Tour.
Earlier, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and Francesca Schiavone of Italy earned straight-set wins to also reach the second round.
World No. 44 Svitolina defeated Mona Barthel 6-2, 7-5 after the German double-faulted eight times and dropped five service games.
Schiavone hit four aces in beating Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-2.
The top-seeded player in Linz is world No. 9 Angelique Kerber of Germany, who was given a late wild-card entry to replace Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic after she pulled out with a back injury.
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