Last year’s semi-finalist Coco Gauff barely put a foot wrong as she continued her rollicking start to the Australian Open with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Canadian 30th seed Leylah Fernandez to reach the last 16 yesterday.
Third seed Gauff had taken apart 2021 US Open runner-up Fernandez in their only previous meeting at the United Cup mixed team tournament in late last month and fans hoping for a tighter clash at Margaret Court Arena were left disappointed.
“I think it’s harder [to face Fernandez again], because she knows what to expect. She played differently than she did at the United Cup,” Gauff said.
Photo: AFP
“It’s also harder because you’re trying to change up from the last time. She’s a great competitor and a great person, so I knew it would be a tough match regardless,” she said.
Having squandered three opportunities to break in a tough third game, Gauff pounced for a 4-3 advantage as Fernandez sent a shot long, before the 20-year-old American dictated play to close out the opening set.
The gulf in class became even more evident as Gauff raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set and she pulled away to win her 16th successive set since the start of 2025 and advance in style at Melbourne Park.
The 2023 US Open champion is to face Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic in the next round.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS