Taiwan’s Chan sisters on Sunday were both victorious at the French Open, while Novak Djokovic doused Fernando Verdasco’s fire then aimed a dig at the organizers for not watering the courts as he moved confidently into the men’s singles quarter-finals at Roland Garros.
Eighth seeds Chan Hao-ching and Yang Zhaoxuan advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Sorana Cirstea of Romania and Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain in 1 hour, 32 minutes.
The Taiwanese-Chinese duo converted five of 15 break points as their opponents sent to seven double faults, winning 82 of the 152 points contested to advance to a quarter-final against Romanians Irina Bara and Mihaela Buzarnescu, who defeated Americans Jennifer Brady and Vania King 6-4, 6-3.
Photo: AFP
In the second round of the mixed doubles, second seeds Latisha Chan and Ivan Dodig needed to win a tiebreak to oust King and Franko Skugor of Croatia 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 in 1 hour, 26 minutes.
The Taiwanese-Croatian duo saved four of six break points and converted two of two, winning 66 of the 127 points contested to advance to a quarter-final against Nicole Melichar of the US and Alexander Peya of Austria, who defeated Zhang Shuai of China and John Peers of Australia 6-4, 3-6, 10-7.
In the men’s singles, Verdasco gave 12-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic some tricky moments early on, but it was the slippery Court Phillipe Chatrier clay that raised the Serb’s hackles.
Djokovic appeared to lose his footing a few times during the first and second sets of his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 fourth-round win and he made his feelings known to the chair umpire.
“It was a very warm day and after the first set they decided not to water the court, which I thought it was not the right decision,” Djokovic told reporters. “I just questioned the decision from the chair umpire... What I don’t like is that there is no participation of the players.”
Djokovic looked as though he would need a hose to cool down Verdasco’s thunderous ground strokes which, in the early stages, looked capable of knocking the 2016 champion off balance, but in the end he won with something to spare.
Having seen off Verdasco’s early charge he said he felt in control and was clinical in taking his break points.
“That was quite a beginning for both of us,” he said. “Very physical, very long games, a lot of exchanges. He’s got weapons everywhere. Serve, forehand, everything. He loves playing on clay, but I think in the most important moments today, I just managed to play an extra shot in the court, and just made him run and just made him uncomfortable.”
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS