Sun, Jan 25, 2015 page20

• Taiwanese have a better day at Melbourne Park

  TABLES TURN: After several days of losses for Taiwanese players, yesterday proved more successful, while the top seeds also went through, although Kvitova crashed out

  • By Dave Carroll / Staff reporter, with Reuters, Melbourne, Australia
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  Taiwanese players had a much more successful time at the Australian Open yesterday, with Chan Yung-jan advancing to the third round of the women’s doubles, while younger sister Chan Hao-ching and Hsieh Su-wei won their opening mixed doubles matches.

  On Court 6, 14th seeds Chan Yung-jan and Zheng Jie of China defeated Lara Arruabarrena of Spain and Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 6-3 in their second-round women’s doubles match.

  Chan and Zheng won seven of 14 break-point chances and hit 31 winners to complete the victory in 1 hour, 24 minutes and set up a tough third-round clash against fourth seeds Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Flavia Pennetta of Italy.

  

  Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan, right, and Zheng Jie of China play Lara Arruabarrena of Spain and Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania in their second-round match at the Australian Open in Melbourne yesterday.

  Photo: EPA

  Hingis and Pennetta survived a second-set wobble to complete a 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 victory over Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and Karin Knapp of Italy.

  In the mixed doubles, Chan Hao-ching and Britain’s Jamie Murray rallied after losing the first set to complete a 4-6, 7-6 (9/7), 10-8 victory over Australia’s Jarmila Gajdosova and Mahesh Bhupathi of India on Court 7.

  Chan Hao-ching and Murray saved two of four break-point chances and converted just one of nine, but it was enough to complete the win in 1 hour, 30 minutes.

  The Taiwanese-British duo face either fourth seeds Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic and Alexander Peya of Austria or US pairing Raquel Kops-Jones and Scott Lipsky in the second round.

  On Court 13, Hsieh Su-wei and Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay also featured in a tight match, edging sixth seeds Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia 6-4, 5-7, 10-4 in the super tiebreak.

  Hsieh and Cuevas survived despite serving up five double faults and converting only two of 13 break-point opportunities to complete the victory in 1 hour, 20 minutes.

  The Taiwanese-Uruguayan pairing next face either cross-strait duo Chang Kai-chen and Zhang Ze or Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands, who are due to play their first-round match today.

  In the singles, top seed Serena Williams and her older sister Venus led a foursome of American women into the fourth round, while men’s top seed Novak Djokovic survived a nervous start to overcome a feisty Fernando Verdasco.

  The sisters were joined in the last 16 by the two Madisons — Brengle and Keys — who will play each other — with the 19-year-old Keys upsetting twice Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-4, 7-5 in the last match of the day.

  “I think my hands are still shaking,” said Keys, who is coached by former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport.

  Twice champion Victoria Azarenka also advanced after a 6-4, 6-4 victory over 25th seed Barbora Zahlavova Strycova and will now meet last year’s beaten finalist Dominika Cibulkova.

  With Roger Federer’s surprise exit on Friday still hanging over the tournament, the men’s favorites had some nervous moments in their third-round clashes.

  Djokovic was forced into a first-set tiebreak by former top-10 player Verdasco, while fifth seed Kei Nishikori also dropped the first-set tiebreak before he beat Steve Johnson.

  Men’s champion Stan Wawrinka continued his quiet progression with a clinical victory over tricky lefthander Jarkko Nieminen.

  While Azarenka continues to lurk as a danger to anyone in the top half of the draw, an ominous portent developed over the rest of the women’s field with the Williams sisters’ success.

  The last time the siblings reached the last 16 at Melbourne Park, Serena went on to win her fifth Australian Open title.

  It was also the last time the 18-time Grand Slam winner lifted the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.

  The world No. 1 beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, while 18th seed Venus also needed a set to get going before she beat Italy’s Camila Giorgi 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 to make her first Grand Slam fourth round since Wimbledon in 2011.

  “That feels fantastic, especially when things happen in your life that are not in your control,” said Venus, who struggles with Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can cause joint pain and fatigue.

  “But I don’t want to stop now, I want to keep it going,” she said. “This little cat has a few tricks up her sleeve.”

  The 34-year old now meets women’s sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who also continued her largely untroubled progress with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Varvara Lepchenko, while Serena plays the enigmatic Garbine Muguruza.
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