Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Barbora Strycova yesterday advanced to the doubles final at the Brisbane International, while world No. 2 Karolina Pliskova is to defend her singles title today after edging Naomi Osaka in an epic three-set semi-final.
Reigning Wimbledon champions Hsieh and Strycova defeated unseeded Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine and Yang Zhaoxuan of China 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in 1 hour, 28 minutes to advance to today’s final at the Queensland Tennis Centre.
The Taiwanese-Czech duo got off to another slow start at Pat Rafter Arena, falling behind 5-2 in the first set before rallying and then breaking Kichenok has she served for the set to set up a tiebreaker.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
The top seeds then raced to a 5-0 lead in the decider, with back-to-back volleys by Strycova securing the set.
The second set proved much easier for the favorites, with Strycova serving out to love to complete the victory.
The top seeds failed to save the two break points they faced, but converted three of nine, winning 11 of 14 points on their second service to set up a final against home favorite Ashleigh Barty and Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, who received a walkover in the semi-finals when their opponents withdrew on Thursday.
In the singles, Pliskova triumphed 6-7 (10/12), 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 over Osaka in 2 hours, 48 minutes and is to face eighth seed Madison Keys of the US in the final.
She was forced to come from a set down, then save a match point at 5-6 in the second, before seeing off the reigning Australian Open champion.
The two are no strangers to long matches against each other — Osaka edged Pliskova 6-4 in the third set in the Australian Open semi-finals last year on her way to the title.
“That was one of the best matches that I’ve played on this court,” Pliskova said. “It was a great standard and she’s always tough to play against. I think I did a good job to stay in there after a tough first set, and in the second I just kept fighting and it paid off.”
In the first semi-final, Keys held firm when it counted to defeat two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
ASB CLASSIC
AP, AUCKLAND, New Zealand
Jessica Pegula yesterday upset former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki to set up a final against top seed Serena Williams.
The daughter of Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula came from a set down to beat Wozniacki 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the Dane’s penultimate tournament before retirement.
“Caroline has had an amazing career and I know she’s retiring so I had to work really hard, but I’m just happy to get the win and I’m pleased to be in the final,” Pegula said. “I definitely knew if I was going to play defensive I wasn’t going to win that battle because she’s the best in the world at that. So I knew I just had to step in and take my chances, and just trust my game.”
The crowd had barely recovered from the shock of Pegula’s victory when Williams joined her in today’s final after she took just 45 minutes to overwhelm third-seeded fellow American Amanda Anisimova 6-1, 6-1.
Anisimova was not born when Williams won the first of her 23 Grand Slam titles and had dreamed of one day playing the superstar, but she met Williams in her most dominant form.
“I was definitely in the zone today,” Williams said. “It was just one of those days. I knew I was playing a really, really great player and an even better person, so I knew I had to come out serious. It feels good. I’ve been working really hard for a couple of years — my daughter’s only two — and I seem to be really hard on myself, but considering everything, it’s really good.”
SHENZHEN OPEN
AFP, SHENZHEN, China
Ekaterina Alexandrova yesterday won her first WTA Tour singles title after the in-form Russian defeated Elena Rybakina in straight sets in the final of the Shenzhen Open.
The fifth seed won 6-2, 6-4 in 73 minutes to begin her season with a bang in southeastern China.
The 25-year-old, ranked a career-high 34th in the world, collapsed to her knees after dismissing Rybakina, the seventh seed from Kazakhstan.
“I didn’t expect the first set to be so easy, so I knew the second set would be so much tougher,” Alexandrova said. “In the second set I think she played well, but after I got the break to make it 4-4, she got a bit nervous. It feels amazing to win my first title, I don’t know what to say. The first title is always special.”
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
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
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS