The Australian Open has once again delivered heartbreak to Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan, an accomplished doubles player still seeking an elusive Grand Slam title.
Chan and her sister Chan Hao-ching, seeded second in this year’s women’s doubles in Melbourne, had cruised through their first three matches, dropping a total of just 15 games.
However, yesterday they fell in the quarter-finals to seventh-seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 in just over two hours after squandering two match points in the second set.
Photo: AFP
The Chan sisters ran off the final six games of the first set to get an edge on their opponents and were seemingly headed to victory after racing to a 5-2 lead in the second set.
In the pivotal eighth game that went to deuce four times, the Taiwanese duo had two chances to break serve for the match, but the Czechs came up with winners each time to stave off the threat.
Hlavackova and Hradecka then broke their opponents’ serve to pull to 5-4, and rode the swing in momentum to win the final three games and close out the set.
The Chans temporarily recovered, opening a 2-0 lead in the third set, but then frittered away a service game after being up 40-0, unable to keep up with the Czechs’ aggressive play.
They rebounded to take a 3-2 lead, but then lost the final four games of the set and the match.
Chan Yung-jan, currently ranked seventh in the world in women’s doubles, still has a chance in this year’s mixed doubles.
Seeded third in the event, she and Rohan Bopanna of India have reached the quarter-finals, where they are to face the unseeded duo of Andreja Klepac of Slovenia and Trent Huey of the Philippines.
Chan previously reached the women’s doubles finals at the Australian Open last year with Zheng Jie of China and the US Open in 2007 when teamed with Chuang Chia-jung and played for the mixed doubles title in Australia in 2011.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are 22-all in career head-to-heads, have nine Australian Open titles between them and warmed up for a semi-final meeting with clinical quarter-final wins.
Six-time champion Serena Williams advanced to the semi-finals yet again, extending her dominance in a 12-year rivalry with an 18th straight win over Maria Sharapova.
The three most decorated players from Melbourne in the Open era all won in straight sets yesterday, with Williams starting the roll with a 6-4, 6-1 win over 2008 champion Sharapova in a rematch of last year’s final. Up next for her is fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-3 to reach a Grand Slam semi-final for the fifth time.
Williams has won every semi-final she has contested at Melbourne Park, and gone on to win the title each time.
Djokovic’s mark is almost as good — he is 5-0 in semi-finals, and in finals, in the season’s first major. He advanced with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 7 Kei Nishikori in the night match on Rod Laver.
Four-time champion Federer capped the afternoon session with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 6 Tomas Berdych, reaching his 12th Australian Open semi-final and his 39th in a Grand Slam. He has not gone past the semi-finals here since winning the title in 2010.
Williams’ win over Sharapova was the marquee match of the day, improving her record to 19-2 in a rivalry that goes back to 2004.
Sharapova broke to open the match and held for a 2-0 lead, but Williams held in the third game and broke to quickly level at 2-2.
Both players struggled with their ball toss at one end, repeatedly practicing their toss to work out the best position to serve into the sun.
Williams also had to concentrate hard to hold in the ninth game, when a baby screamed loudly in the stands as she faced break points.
She was able to protect her own serve, and go on the attack against Sharapova, taking the high-risk approach rather than the high-percentage options with her returns.
After winning an intense first set, Williams had medical treatment — later saying it was just for an upset stomach.
She went on a five-game roll in the second to put the result beyond doubt before Sharapova held serve.
Sharapova has not beaten Williams since back-to-back victories in 2004, when she led their rivalry 2-1. Despite more than 11 years in between, Sharapova is not giving up hope of breaking that drought.
“It’s motivating, because she’s at a different level,” Sharapova said. “She makes you go back to the drawing board, not just for me, but for many other players. She makes you work. That’s inspiring.”
Federer also has some inspiration in his next match against Djokovic. He lost to the Serbian star five of the six times they met in finals last year, including Wimbledon and the US Open.
Federer, 34, used a full array of shots, including some vintage backhands, in his 48 winners, to avenge two losses to Berdych at Wimbledon in 2010 and the 2012 US Open.
He is now the oldest man since 1979 (Colin Dibley) to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
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