China yesterday surged into a 2-0 lead against Taiwan in their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie at the Yang-Ming Tennis Center in Kaohsiung, with both opening singles rubbers going to five sets.
In the first Davis Cup tie between the cross-strait neighbors since 2013, Li Zhe gave the visitors the lead with a 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 7-5 victory over Chen Ti in the first singles rubber in 4 hours, 36 minutes.
World No. 265 Chen is the only member of the Taiwan team who played in their last victory over China 10 years ago in the Asia/Oceania Group I relegation playoff in 2007.
China got the better of Taiwan in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Li fired down 15 aces and converted 10 of 21 break points, winning 197 of the 374 points contested.
In the second singles rubber, Taiwanese world No. 168 Jason Jung retired in the fifth set with China’s Wu Yibing leading 6-1, 4-6, 5-7, 7-6 (11/9), 4-1 after 3 hours, 50 minutes.
Jung failed to convert two match-points in the fourth-set tiebreaker before running out of steam in the fifth set.
Wu fired down 12 aces and converted five of 19 break points, winning 181 of the 356 points contested to give the visitors a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five tie and put them on the brink of a promotion playoff against Kazakhstan on April 7 to April 9.
In the doubles rubber today, Taiwan’s Lee Kuan-yi and Peng Hsien-yin are scheduled to take on Li and Zhang Zhizhen.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
RSS