TENNIS
Taiwan defeat HK
Taiwan beat Hong Kong three matches to one in their Davis Cup World Group II tie in Taipei over the weekend to qualify for the World Group I playoffs next year. Taiwan’s national tennis squad topped Hong Kong 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-5) in the doubles and 6-1, 6-2 in the singles yesterday after finishing with one game apiece on Saturday at Taipei Tennis Center. Ray Ho and Hsu Hsiao-yu defeated Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong and Wong Chun Hun in a doubles matchup that lasted 52 minutes, while Wu Tung-lin overpowered Wong in 41 minutes in the singles yesterday. In a major upset on Saturday, Wong beat Jason Jung, ranked 601 places above Wong, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) to give Hong Kong an early lead in the tie. However, Wu evened the field by beating Wong Hong Kit 6-2, 6-2.
TABLE TENNIS
Taiwan pair wins doubles
Taiwanese paddlers Lin Yun-ju and Chen Szu-yu on Saturday beat China’s Xu Haidong and Wu Yangchen 3-2 in the mixed doubles final at the WTT Contender Almaty in Kazakhstan, while Lin and Liao Cheng-ting routed Kazakhstan’s Denis Zholudev and Sagantay Kurmambayev 3-0 in the men’s doubles semi-finals. The world No. 24 Taiwanese men’s doubles duo defeated Zholudev and Kurmambayev 11-2, 11-8, 11-8 in 14 minutes. It is the second time the Taiwanese pairing have reached a final this season. They were yesterday to face Anton Kallberg and Mattias Falck of Sweden in the final.
BASKETBALL
Taiwan tournament starts
The Hsinchu JKO Lioneers beat Taiwan Beer 97-90 on Saturday, the opening day of Taiwan’s first interleague tournament, featuring 12 teams from the Super Basketball League (SBL), the T1 League and the P.League+. In the day’s other games, the PLG Rising Stars defeated Changhua BLL 88-69, while the Taiwan Beer Herobears topped the Yulon Luxgen Dinos 92-69 and the CTBC DEA overpowered the Taoyuan Leopards 94-62. The Interleague Play tournament, organized by the CTBA and held at Taipei’s Heping Basketball Gymnasium, runs until Tuesday next week. It was designed to fill the slot of the Taipei-hosted international invitational William Jones Cup, which was called off for the third consecutive year due to COVID-19 border restrictions.
SOCCER
Pogba’s brother charged
The elder brother of Juventus’ Paul Pogba has been charged and detained over the alleged extortion of the French star, a source close to the case said on Saturday. “We are going to challenge this decision,” Mathias Pogba’s lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, told French broadcaster BFMTV, adding that his client had committed no criminal offense. A judicial source said that four other people being held and questioned over the case, aged between 27 and 36, had also been charged and detained. The five have been held in custody since Tuesday and Wednesday. Mathias Pogba, 32, has admitted to being behind a bizarre video published online on Aug. 27 promising “great revelations” about the French national team member. The four others are all close to the Pogba brothers. Paul Pogba had filed a complaint with Turin prosecutors on July 16, saying he was the target of a 13 million euro (US$13.02 million) blackmail plot.
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
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