TENNIS
Taiwan’s Chan wins opener
Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and partner Giuliana Olmos of Mexico on Wednesday survived McCartney Kessler of the US and Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands to advance to the second round of the women’s doubles at the French Open. The competitors were forced to suspend play due to rain in the middle of a tiebreaker in Paris, with ninth seeds Chan and Olmos winning 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (10/8) in nearly three hours. They are to play Ann Li of the US and Lucia Bronzetti of Italy in the second round. Also on Wednesday, 10th seeds Wu Fang-hsien of Taiwan and Jiang Xianyu of China handily beat Colombia’s Camila Osorio and Alycia Parks of the US 6-4, 6-1 in just more than an hour. Wu and Jiang are next to play Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan and Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia. Third seeds Hsieh Su-wei and Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko were after press time last night to play their opener against the Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova and Marketa Vondrousova. Meanwhile, British-Taiwanese player Joanna Garland, who on Tuesday became the first Taiwanese to win a women’s singles main draw opener since Hsieh in 2020, was after press time last night to face 32nd seed Yulia Putintseva in the second round.
BADMINTON
Lin advances in Singapore
World No. 19 Lin Chun-yi of Taiwan yesterday defeated world No. 4 Li Shifeng of China 21-18, 21-14 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open. Lin is to face Hong Kong’s world No. 21 Lee Cheuk-yi, who advanced by beating Taiwanese star and world No. 6 Chou Tien-chen 21-12, 21-16 in 46 minutes. In women’s singles, Taiwan’s world No. 19 Sung Shuo-yun was knocked out of the round-of-16 21-13, 21-14 by world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi. Taiwan’s Wang Chi-lin and Chiu Hsiang-chieh lost 21-12, 21-15 to China’s Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in men’s doubles.
MOTOGP
Marini injured in testing
Honda rider Luca Marini sustained a nasty crash while testing in Japan, sustaining injuries to his hip, knee, chest and shoulder, as well as a collapsed lung, the Japanese team said on Wednesday. Marini had traveled to the Suzuka Circuit after the British Grand Prix that was held over the weekend and the Italian was testing Honda’s bike for the Suzuka 8-hour endurance race when he crashed heavily on the second day of testing. “Suffering from a dislocated left hip, damage to the ligaments in his left knee, fractures in the sternum and left collarbone and a right-sided pneumothorax, Marini was transferred to local hospital and stabilized,” Honda said. “Marini will remain under observation in Japan until he is deemed fit to travel.” Honda did not give a timeline for Marini’s return. The 27-year-old is 13th in the MotoGP riders’ standings after seven rounds.
SOCCER
Saudis in tough Ronaldo talks
Saudi Arabian officials are in “difficult” talks to keep Cristiano Ronaldo in the country, a source with knowledge of the negotiations said yesterday, after the star soccer player suggested he was leaving Al-Nassr. The Portuguese superstar, whose arrival in 2023 heralded a rush of late-career players to the oil-rich country, could transfer to Al-Hilal and feature at the upcoming Club World Club, the source said.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
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