Lu Yen-hsun advanced to the second round of the ATP Tour’s Chengdu Open yesterday, while fellow Taiwanese Chuang Chia-jung successfully negotiated the first round of the doubles at the WTA Tour’s Wuhan Open.
Taiwanese No. 1 Lu took 75 minutes to oust Czech veteran Radek Stepanek in Chengdu.
The world No. 63 did not face a single break point, while converting two of four to complete a 6-3, 6-4 victory and set up a second-round clash with either fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain or German qualifier Michael Berrer.
Photo: Reuters
Also advancing to the second round was world No. 101 Karen Khachanov of Russia, who stunned Portuguese seventh seed Joao Sousa 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in 77 minutes.
Khachanov was joined in the second round by Dusan Lajovic, Adrian Mannarino and Kevin Anderson.
In Wuhan, Chuang and Kateryna Bondarenko defeated Chinese duo Liang Chen and Yang Zhaoxuan 6-4, 7-5 in 82 minutes to advance the second round of the doubles.
The Taiwanese-Ukrainian duo saved three of seven break points and converted six of 19, winning 68 of the 127 points contested to set up a meeting with seventh-seeded Czech pairing Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.
Second-seeded Taiwanese sisters Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan, who received a bye in the first round, face a second-round match against Slovenian duo Andreja Klepac and Katarina Srebotnik.
In the second round of the singles, Angelique Kerber survived a scare in her first match as world No. 1 before beating Kristina Mladenovic in three sets.
The US and Australian Open champion made a convincing start before missing two set points and allowing Mladenovic to take the first set in a tiebreak, but Germany’s Kerber then swept through the rest of the match, winning 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-4, to set up a third-round meeting with two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
“I was trying to find my rhythm because I was not playing my best in the first set,” Kerber said.
Kvitova said she would be trying not to think about Kerber’s new status as world No. 1 when they play today.
“[It] will be for the first time... that I will play her as a No. 1, which is a little bit different, but I think if I’m on the court, I don’t really think about that,” Kvitova told reporters.
World No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska also romped into the third round, as last year’s US Open finalist Roberta Vinci became the tournament’s first seeded casualty.
One-time Wimbledon runner-up Radwanska won 6-4, 6-1 against Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova.
Italy’s Vinci, ranked 15, was ousted by Yaroslava Shvedova 7-5, 6-2 — her second defeat to the Kazakh this year.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘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
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
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
RSS