Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki trounced Alexandra Dulgheru for the loss of just one game to reach the WTA Auckland Classic semi-finals yesterday. The third seed, who has not dropped a set all week, took only 52 minutes to overwhelm Romania’s Dulgheru 6-1, 6-0 and set up a last-four clash with American Sloane Stephens.
The second semi-final is to be between Germany’s Julia Goerges and qualifier Tamira Paszek from Austria, whose head-to-head record is 2-2. They benefited from being in the same half of the draw as the top two seeds, Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic, who were first-round casualties.
Paszek, ranked 172nd in the world, survived a three-hour marathon quarter-final against Kirsten Flipkens from Belgium, finally winning 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3. Flipkens was down 1-4 in the second set before winning it on a tiebreak, and she recovered from 0-5 to 3-5 in the final set before Paszek got over the line.
Photo: AFP
“I am delighted that I was strong enough mentally to focus and deal with the setbacks, and actually close out the match,” the 25-year-old Paszek said.
Goerges also came through a three-set quarter-final when she came from behind to beat Japan’s Nao Hibino 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 6-4.
Stephens, the fifth seed, ended the run of Briton Naomi Broady, who conquered second seed Ivanovic in the first round. Broady hinted at another shock when she took the first set to a tiebreak. However, Stephens clicked into gear to reach the semis 7-6 (8/6), 6-3.
SHENZHEN OPEN
AFP, BEIJING
Seeded first, Agnieszka Radwanska strolled into the semi-finals of the WTA Shenzhen Open in straight sets yesterday, the only seed left in the US$500,000 tournament.
Radwanska, the world No. 5 and winner of the WTA Finals in Singapore in November last year, disposed of her second home opponent in as many days, defeating Wang Qiang 6-3, 6-2 in a little more than an hour.
However, Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, the No. 6 seed, went out at the hands of Timea Babos of Hungary, 6-4, 6-4.
The tournament in the southern Chinese city has been littered with surprises and early exits, some of them to illness or injury.
Radwanska is now likely to be an even hotter favorite, as world No. 70 Babos — whom she will meet in tomorrow’s final, if they both win their semis — is her highest-ranked remaining rival.
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS