TENNIS
Taiwanese to play today
Wu Fang-hsien of Taiwan today is to play in the women’s doubles quarter-finals at the WTA Thailand Open after she and her Slovenian partner won their round-of-16 match on Monday. Wu and Tamara Zidansek face Chinese pair Jiang Xinyu and Guo Hanyu at True Arena Hua Hin in the US$267,082 hard-court tournament for a place in the semis following their 6-4, 6-4 win over Swiss-German pair Conny Perrin and Julia Lohoff in the opening round. The other Taiwanese in the tournament, Liang En-shuo, exited in the round-of-16 after she and partner Lanlana Tararudee of Thailand lost 6-2, 3-6, 10-3 to Bibiane Schoofs of the Netherlands and the Czech Republic’s Anna Siskova.
TENNIS
Murray to battle on
Andy Murray hit back at suggestions he could “damage his legacy” if he continues his career after the 36-year-old Scot suffered a third straight first-round exit to start the season. After first-round exits at Brisbane and Melbourne Park, Murray’s defeat by Frenchman Benoit Paire in Montpellier on Tuesday prompted a BBC reporter to ask: “At what point does bravely soldiering on start to damage his legacy?” Murray wrote on X: “Tarnishing my legacy? Do me a favour. I’m in a terrible moment right now I’ll give you that. Most people would quit and give up in my situation right now. But I’m not most people and my mind works differently. I won’t quit. I will keep fighting and working to produce the performances I know I’m capable of.” Former US Open champion Andy Roddick said that nothing could detract from Murray’s achievements. “Can’t take legacy away. Accomplishment lives forever,” he wrote on X.
CRICKET
England mull spin storm
Ben Stokes’ England side could go with an all-spin bowling attack against India with the second Test to begin in Visakhapatnam tomorrow. Rohit Sharma’s side suffered only their fourth home defeat in 47 Tests since 2013 last week in Hyderabad as England came from 190 runs behind on first innings to record a stunning 28-run victory. The pitch is expected to turn sharply from the start. Uncapped England spinner Shoaib Bashir joined his teammates on Sunday after a visa delay and coach Brendon McCullum hinted that Bashir could start if England go “quids-in” with a four-pronged spin attack. “We won’t be afraid to play all our spinners,” McCullum told SEN Radio as England look to extend their series lead to 2-0.
MOTORSPORTS
F1 may return to Malaysia
Oil company Petroliam Nasional, or Petronas, is looking to bring Formula One races back to Malaysia in 2026 after a nine-year hiatus, three sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. Malaysia hosted a leg of the F1 world championship at its Sepang International Circuit from 1999, but staged its most recent race in 2017 due to declining ticket sales and rising costs of hosting the event. The plan to bring back the F1 race was revealed during a company townhall led by the firm’s president and chief executive officer Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz, the sources said, declining to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
HSIEH ADVANCES: In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei was to play in the second round last night, but Taiwan’s Ray Ho exited in the men’s doubles It is more than 10 years since Grigor Dimitrov reached his sole Wimbledon semi-final and back then it still seemed a reasonable bet that the Bulgarian once dubbed “Baby Federer” would win a Grand Slam title. There were semi-final runs at the US Open and Australian Open after that, but it has never quite happened and despite him still being ranked No. 21, it most likely never will. Dimitrov, 34, remains one of the most stylish players on the circuit though, with his elegant single-handed backhand and smooth all-court game a rare reminder of how tennis was before the power merchants turned
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
INJURY TURMOIL: Despite stunning French Open champions Paolini and Errani to advance, Chan was forced to pull out after her partner’s tearful women’s singles defeat Last year’s mixed doubles champions Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Poland’s Jan Zielinski on Monday crashed out of the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, leaving the Taiwanese star focused on pursuing a fifth women’s doubles title in London, while a partner injury forced compatriot Chan Hao-ching to give up on her doubles campaign. Hsieh and Zielinksi, who last year also won the Australia Open title, narrowly lost their opening set 7-6 (9/7), before Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani stunned the former champions 6-3 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The Taiwanese-Polish duo had been dominant in the first two
Real Madrid’s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund had taken three crazy turns during nine minutes of second-half stoppage time when Marcel Sabitzer chested the ball and sent a right-footed volley toward Thibaut Courtois’ post. Courtois leapt to his right, extended the long arm on his 2m frame and just managed to get his gloved fingertips on the ball, knocking it down. Courtois hit the ground as the ball bounded up. He looked skyward, planted his right hand to regain his balance, grabbed the ball with both hands on the second bounce and fell onto it with his chest. Sabitzer turned
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