Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and partner Shuko Aoyama of Japan on Saturday beat Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico to advance to the women’s doubles at the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, California.
Chan and Aoyama beat Dabrowski and Olmos in the semi-finals 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 10-3 in 1 hour, 42 minutes of play.
The Taiwanese-Japanese duo were yesterday to play China’s Yang Zhaoxuan and Xu Yifan in the final. The Chinese pair on Friday advanced to the semi-finals with a walkover in a match against Chan’s sister, Latisha Chan, and Brazilian partner Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Photo: AFP
In women’s singles, unseeded American Shelby Rogers kept up her dominant show by defeating Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-finals, putting herself in contention for her first career title.
In her first appearance in a final in six years, the world No. 45 was to meet seventh-seeded Daria Kasatkina, who defeated world No. 4 Paula Badosa of Spain 6-2 6-4 in the other semi-final.
The big-hitting Rogers, 29, beat former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, top seed Maria Sakkari and Wimbledon quarter-finalist Amanda Anisimova in her previous rounds and has yet to drop a set at the WTA 500 event in San Jose, California.
“Amazing, I mean this is the position you want to be in every single week,” Rogers said. “This is what we train for. As much as you sacrifice and put in the work, it’s just nice to see it all coming together.”
“I’m enjoying myself and having fun. And I think this is probably one of the most fun weeks I’ve had on tour. So that says a lot for why I’m playing so well. When I’m relaxed and just enjoying myself, good things happen,” she said.
Kasatkina has also had a strong week, defeating Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, world No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka and Badosa en route to her first final of the season and her second straight at San Jose.
“Playing two times in a row in finals here in San Jose means that it’s a special place for me and so I’m really happy,” said 12th-ranked Kasatkina, who would return to the top 10 with a win yesterday.
“I love her,” Kasatkina said of Rogers. “She’s a great person and I’m really happy to share this day and the special moment with her on the other side of the court and making good memories. But, of course, on the court we’re going to fight against each other.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB