Britain’s Heather Watson defied the Tasmanian wind to secure her second WTA title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over US qualifier Madison Brengle in the final of the Hobart International yesterday.
Watson was a popular winner of an event which battled rain and blustery conditions all week, wrapping up a hard-fought but error-strewn contest in a little under one-and-a-half hours.
The world No. 49 did not lose a set at the tournament and will take a major confidence boost across the Bass Strait to Melbourne for the Australian Open, where she meets Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova in the first round.
“I’ve enjoyed my time here so, so much and I’d love to come back here again next year,” Watson told the crowd in the presentation ceremony. “I know it hasn’t been superb weather for tennis, but you’ve definitely made it fun for us.”
Watson’s friend Brengle had battled her way through seven matches in qualifying and the main draw to reach her first WTA final, and was determined to make an impression, forcing Watson to save 11 break points in her first two service games.
The 12th saw the 24-year-old American claim the first break of the match when Watson double-faulted, but it was just one of five in the set and the Briton’s superior net game helped her take a 1-0 lead.
Brengle continued to struggle with her blistered right hand in the second set, with her forehand responsible for 21 of her 34 unforced errors.
Watson pounced to claim the only break of the set for a 4-3 lead and three games later was serving for the match, which she secured when Brengle went wide with a backhand.
The Channel Islander paid tribute to her Argentine coach Diego Veronelli, who started working with her in late 2013 after she had won her maiden title in Osaka in 2012.
“We work so hard together but we also have fun,” the 22-year-old said. “Whoo! Title number one.”
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
RSS