Taiwanese sisters Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan on Thursday advanced to the semi-finals of the doubles at the Qatar Open, while top seed Simona Halep successfully continued her bid for the title in the singles.
The Chan sisters took just 61 minutes to complete a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Lara Arruabarrena of Spain and Kaitlyn Christian of the US in their quarter-final at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
The Taiwanese duo saved three of four break points and converted four of six, winning 58 of the 98 points contested, helped by winning 62 percent of their points on second service.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
The sisters were next due to face Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the semi-finals after they defeated Raquel Atawo of the US and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 6-4, 6-2 in 70 minutes.
In the singles, Halep battled past Germany’s Julia Goerges 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (8/6) to set up a semi-final against Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.
Playing in her first tournament with new coach Thierry van Cleemput, Halep raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set before her ninth-seeded opponent fought back to force a tiebreak.
Goerges threatened with an early break in the second set, but Halep’s relentless accuracy from the baseline proved the difference as the Romanian closed out the win in just more than two hours.
Fourth seed Svitolina swept aside Czech qualifier Karolina Muchova 6-4, 6-2 to move into her first semi-final of the season.
Svitolina broke her opponent twice in each set, winning 78 percent of points on her first serve in a commanding display.
Muchova, who has enjoyed a breakthrough week to reach her first WTA Tour quarter-final, was undone by her 25 unforced errors, allowing Svitolina to clinch an 82-minute victory.
Muchova is “not a typical young player, because most of the players now that are coming up, they are smashing the ball,” Svitolina said. “She has lots of variety in her game and that’s, I think, very good for tennis.”
Three-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber rallied from a set down to overcome Czech Barbora Strycova 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), reaching her first semi-final since her Wimbledon triumph in July last year.
Kerber’s Australian Open campaign last month ended in one of the worst defeats of her career when she won only two games against Danielle Collins, but she has put her disappointment behind her by stepping up her game in Doha.
Both players converted five break points in a riveting contest, but it was Kerber who kept her composure in the decisive tiebreak to improve her head-to-head record to 8-1 against Strycova.
“We played so many times against each other,” Kerber said. “You never know what to expect, if she is playing serve and volley or just moving, playing fast. It was a really close match and I think just one, two points decide the match.”
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS