Taiwanese world No. 1 women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei on Saturday overcame a first-set loss to win her opening match at the Madrid Open.
Top seeds Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium, with whom she last month won her fourth Indian Wells women’s doubles title, bounced back from a rocky first set to beat Asia Muhammad of the US and Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia 2-6, 6-4, 10-2.
Hsieh and Mertens were next to face Heather Watson of the UK and Xu Yifan of China in the round of 16.
Photo: Reuters
Thirty-eight-year-old Hsieh last month reclaimed her world No. 1 spot after her Indian Wells victory, which followed her and Mertens winning the title at the Australian Open, where she also won the mixed doubles title with Poland’s Jan Zielinski.
Meanwhile, Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Veronika Kudermetova of Russia yesterday crashed out of the round of 16, losing 7-6 (7/6), 6-1 to eighth seeds Cristina Bucsa and Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain.
In men’s singles on Saturday, Rafael Nadal defeated Alex de Minaur from Barcelona 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 to extend his stay in Madrid on his final appearance at his home tournament, but said he still “needs time” to return to his competitive peak.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion advanced to a third-round meeting with Argentina’s Pedro Cachin.
In front of a capacity crowd that included the King of Spain, Felipe VI, French soccer icon Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior, Nadal dug deep to dismiss the world No. 11, despite admitting ahead of the tournament he was still struggling with numerous physical issues.
It was an impressive performance from the 37-year-old, but he immediately dismissed the idea it was anywhere near his vintage form.
“No, not yet. It needs time,” Nadal said on court. “To play over two hours means a lot to me and the atmosphere here is just a joke. Just step by step and let’s see how I recover.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered a surprise second-round exit at the hands of world No. 118 Thiago Monteiro, while top seed Jannik Sinner extended his unbeaten record against fellow Italians to 13-0 by defeating his Davis Cup teammate and good friend Lorenzo Sonego 6-0, 6-3 in just 69 minutes.
Last year’s women’s finalist Iga Swiatek eased past Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-1 to book a fourth-round meeting with home favorite Sara Sorribes Tormo, while Ons Jabeur, the 2022 champion, wiped a 0-3 deficit in the first set, and 0-2 and 2-4 deficits in the decider to overcome Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 and move into the last 16.
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care
Caitlin Clark on Thursday walked into her new home arena with No. 22 shirts and jerseys peppered from floor to ceiling. She left as a first-time WNBA winner. A late-arriving, but louder-than-usual crowd roared during her official introduction to Fever fans and again when Clark made her first basket, a layup with 7 minutes left in the first quarter. The cheers grew when she completed a three-point play a few minutes later and hit a crescendo when she finally made a long three-pointer from the edge of the fieldhouse logo late in the third quarter. Clark successfully navigated the city’s most anticipated rookie
TO REAL MADRID? Kylian Mbappe informed PSG privately in February of his intention to depart when his contract expires, but this was the first time he acknowledged it publicly French soccer player Kylian Mbappe on Friday confirmed that he is to leave French champions Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, with Real Madrid widely expected to be his next destination. The announcement brings an end to a prolific association with his hometown team, which began when he signed from AS Monaco in 2017 in a deal worth 180 million euros (US$194 million). “I wanted to announce to you all that it’s my last year at Paris Saint-Germain. I will not extend and the adventure will come to an end in a few weeks,” Mbappe, 25, said in a video
Rafael Nadal on Saturday said that he is leaning toward playing at the French Open despite his second-round elimination in Rome, as Novak Djokovic laughed off being hit by a bottle which briefly cast doubt on his continued participation. Clay-court icon Nadal had previously said that he would only play at the French Open, where he has won a record 14 titles, if he feels competitive after a raft of injury problems over the past two years. And the manner of his elimination in his first ever encounter with Hubert Hurkacz — winner in straight sets 6-1, 6-3 — seemed a step