Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia on Friday advanced to the final in the women’s doubles at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a win over a Chinese pair in the semi-finals.
The third-seeded Taiwanese-Latvian duo were to play Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament, with the match scheduled to begin at about press time last night.
On Friday, Hsieh and Ostapenko eliminated Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan 6-4, 4-6, 10-2 in 95 minutes.
Photo: EPA-EFE
In the women’s singles, Russian teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva continued her giant-slaying exploits, upsetting Kazakhstani sixth seed Elena Rybakina 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the semi-finals.
Denmark’s Clara Tauson set up a final showdown with Andreeva after overcoming Karolina Muchovaher 6-4, 6-7 (7/4), 6-3.
Andreeva and Tauson were to play after press time last night.
Andreeva, who had stunned five-times Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in the quarters and former Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova in the round-of-32, is the youngest player to reach a WTA 1000 Final.
In Brazil, Argentine Francisco Comesana on Friday stunned Australian Open finalist and world No. 2 Alexander Zverev with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win in the quarter-finals of the Rio Open, the biggest win of his career so far.
Comesana, ranked 86th in the world, turned heads in his Grand Slam debut match last year when he handed sixth seed Andrey Rublev a first-round exit from Wimbledon.
Friday’s win in Rio de Janeiro is the 24-year-old’s first victory over a top-five ranked opponent.
“I was repeating to myself throughout the match: ‘How good it is to be alive,’” Comesana said in his post-match interview. “So, I was enjoying the entire match.”
Comesana was to play Alexandre Muller in the semi-finals yesterday, with the Frenchman beating Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina 7-5, 6-1.
Taiwan’s Tseng Chun-hsin missed out on the semis, losing 6-4, 6-1 to Argentina’s Sebastian Baez, who was to play compatriot Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Shahzad Khan was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
OBJECTIVE REACHED: ’Now for us, it’s about getting healthy, making sure everybody is ready to go, and we can ramp up,’ the Atlanta Hawks’ C.J. McCollum said after the game The Atlanta Hawks on Friday secured an NBA playoff berth with a 124-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Boston Celtics locked up the Eastern Conference second seed with a lopsided win of their own. C.J. McCollum scored a game-high 29 points for the Hawks, who came into the contest at sixth in the East and still in danger of falling into the play-in tournament that would see the seventh-through 10th-placed teams battle for the last two playoff berths in each conference. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jalen Johnson scored 18 points apiece, and Dyson Daniels added a triple-double of 13
RSS