Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei crashed out of the second round of the Istanbul Cup on Wednesday, beaten by the tournament’s surprise package, Maria Sakkari.
The Greek qualifier ranked 127th in the world, who ousted top seed Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova in the first round, also proved too strong for world No. 81 Hsieh as she completed a 6-3, 6-4 victory in 1 hour, 20 minutes.
The 20-year-old from Athens saved one of three break points and converted four of 12, winning 67 of the 119 points contested to advance to a quarter-final against fifth seed Danka Kovinic of Montenegro, who defeated Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 7-5, 7-6 (7/4).
Also advancing to the quarters was world No. 113 Andreea Mitu, who stunned second seed Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 7-5, 6-4 in 1 hour, 35 minutes on Center Court at Garanti Koza Arena.
“It was strange for me to play on such a big court,” the Romanian told the WTA Web site. “I am not that used to it, so it feels different, but I am confident on clay.”
Mitu next faces Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland, who defeated Turkish wild-card Ipek Soylu 6-2, 7-5.
“I know Stefanie pretty well, we practiced together the other day,” Mitu said. “I expect a tough one.”
Belgian fourth seed Kirsten Flipkens also advanced after downing Donna Vekic of Croatia 7-6 (7/5), 6-4. She next faces Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine, who rallied from a set down to oust Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-1.
PORSCHE GRAND PRIX
AFP, STUTTGART, Germany
Germany’s Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber withstood a tough opening second-round match against compatriot Annika Beck to reach the quarter-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Wednesday.
Kerber, the defending champion on clay in Stuttgart, needed just over two hours to seal her 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win to reach the last eight after receiving a first-round bye.
The pair of Germans last met in the fourth round of the Australian Open when Kerber beat Beck in straight sets on her way to the title.
Kerber’s win marked a good day for Germany with both Andrea Petkovic and Julia Goerges also winning their first-round matches.
Earlier, 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci served out a tense first-round encounter with former top-10 player Ekaterina Makarova by dispatching the Russian 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-4.
In the second round, Italy’s Vinci is due to play 2011 Stuttgart champion Goerges, who outfoxed France’s Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-0 in just 1 hour, 16 minutes.
Petkovic had few problems as she won her fourth straight encounter against France’s Kristina Mladenovic for a 6-2, 6-4 first-round victory.
Petkovic was due to take on top seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round.
Third seed Garbina Muguruza of Spain also made it to the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Timea Babos of Hungary.
The only shock of the day came when eighth seed Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic crashed out 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-5 in a hard-fought win for her compatriot Karolina Pliskova.
Pliskova was due to face former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in the second round.
In the doubles, Taiwan’s Chuang Chia-jung could not translate her Fed Cup-winning form back to the WTA Tour and she and partner Darija Durak of Croatia fell to a 6-3, 6-3 first-round defeat to Maria Irigoyen of Argentina and Paula Kania of Poland in 66 minutes.
Additional reporting by staff writer
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS