Hsieh Su-wei yesterday claimed back-to-back victories at the Australian Open, while fellow Taiwanese Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan also triumphed on their bow at the first Grand Slam of the season.
Taiwanese No. 1 Hsieh advanced to the third round of the women’s singles with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Laura Siegemund of Germany in 1 hour, 33 minutes.
The Kaohsiung-born 28th seed hit 25 winners and took advantage of her opponent’s 38 unforced errors, while saving eight of 10 break points and converting four of 11 to advance to a third-round clash with reigning US Open champion Naomi Osaka.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Japanese fourth seed took just 64 minutes to see off the challenge of Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek 6-2, 6-4.
“I thought I served alright, this was my first time playing her and I’m just happy to win to be honest,” Osaka said after her victory.
Osaka is one of nine players in contention to overtake Simona Halep and claim the world No. 1 ranking at the end of the tournament, though she would have to reach the quarter-finals for the first time to have a chance.
The Japanese won her only previous meeting with Hsieh on the grass courts in Surbiton, England, in 2015, but is expecting a tough test.
“She’s been playing really well recently, so I just hope that it’s exciting,” Osaka said.
Hsieh later yesterday returned to Court 15 alongside Abigail Spears as the eighth seeds advanced to the second round of the women’s doubles with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Bernarda Pera of the US and Rebecca Peterson of Sweden in 1 hour, 24 minutes.
The Taiwanese-American duo won 96 percent of points on their first serve, converted three of eight break points and hit 26 winners to advance to a second-round clash with Samantha Stosur of Australia and Zhang Shuai of China, who defeated Slovakian duo Viktoria Kuzmova and Magdalena Rybarikova 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.
Also in the first round, the Chan sisters advanced with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Australian wild-cards Ellen Perez and Arina Rodionova in 1 hour, 26 minutes on Court 12.
The Taiwanese seventh seeds took advantage of their opponents’ five double faults and five unforced errors, saved all 10 break points they faced and converted both of the break points they created to advance to a second-round clash with Chinese duo Jiang Xinyu and Wang Qiang, who defeated Pauline Parmentier of France and Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-3, 6-4.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS