Taiwanese sisters Latisha Chan and Chan Hao-ching yesterday lost in the women’s doubles final at the WTA Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne Park, finishing second at the WTA 500 tennis tournament.
The second-seeded Chan sisters were overpowered by Czech players Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova 3-6, 6-7 (4-7) in two straight sets at the opening event of the 2021 WTA season.
After struggling through their first set of the final match, the Taiwanese pair missed breakpoint chances in the third game of the second set, and the pairs waged a seesaw battle in the sixth game.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The sisters recovered, breaking their opponents’ serve in the seventh and 11th games, but failed to play a good service game in the 12th, forcing a tiebreaker.
The Taiwanese duo had a lead in the tiebreaker 4-2, but eventually lost to the Czech pair 4-7.
Krejcikova and Siniakova, who have won two Grand Slam titles, defeated the Chan sisters in their two previous matches.
The sisters are set to compete in the Australian Open, which starts today, three weeks later than scheduled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In women’s singles, world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty yesterday insisted she felt “no extra pressure” ahead of the Australian Open as she tuned up with a battling victory over Garbine Muguruza to win the Yarra Valley Classic.
The Australian wore down the two-time Grand Slam champion 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 on Margaret Court Arena in one hour, 47 minutes to claim her ninth WTA singles title.
It was a big confidence boost for the 24-year-old in her first tournament in 11 months, after struggling to rediscover her best form in earlier rounds and then missing out on court time when Serena Williams pulled out of their semi-final.
Barty, hoping to break her country’s 43-year singles title drought at the Australian Open, said she was unfazed by rising local expectation.
“There’s no extra pressure for me, that’s for sure,” she said. “It’s the same whether it’s a Grand Slam or a tour event. I love playing in Australia.”
“I go into this Australian Open excited, well prepared and ready to play,” she said.
Barty received an eye-catching trophy, a wood carving of a wombat, which was designed by a local Indigenous artist.
“It’s a very touching tribute to my heritage, and it’s very cool to have some indigenous art,” she said. Barty’s father is Aboriginal.
She lifted the intensity after Spain’s Muguruza had dropped just 10 games in her four earlier matches, in echoes of the 2017 form that took her to world No. 1, but she was unable to sustain her red-hot run.
“We’re very grateful to have fans after almost a year without crowds,” said the world No. 15 to a smattering of spectators as intermittent rain fell outside.
“I normally don’t play the week before [a Slam], but I’m taking a lot of positives from this week,” she added.
Muguruza’s powerful baseline game frazzled an errant Barty early, but the Spaniard was unable to close out the first set on serve in the ninth game, as the Australian forced a tiebreak, which she dominated.
A confident Barty continued to hit the lines to run Muguruza ragged and she claimed the title in style with a superb lob winner.
Barty starts her Australian Open campaign on Tuesday against world No. 77 Danka Kovinic of Montenegro, while last year’s finalist Muguruza plays Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan.
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