Taiwanese shuttler Chou Tien-chen on Wednesday advanced to the second round of the BWF Super 300 US Open, with a decisive victory over Finland’s Kalle Koljonen.
World No. 6 Chou, the top seed in the men’s singles at this year’s tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa, defeated world No. 56 Koljonen in straight games in their first meeting.
In a tightly contested first game, Chou overcame an early deficit to build a five-point lead, save three game points and eventually clinch the win 24-22.
Photo: CNA
In the second, Chou trailed 8-10 before going on a six-point run to take control, maintaining his lead the rest of the way and closing the match 21-15.
Chou, a former world No. 2, was set to face Vietnam’s world No. 73 Nguyen Hai Dang yesterday after press time for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile Taiwan’s Su Li-yang, ranked world No. 36 and seeded fifth in the men’s singles, defeated Israel’s Misha Zilberman 21-11, 21-12 in the first round to set up a match against Canada’s Victor Lai, who advanced with a 21-15, 20-22, 21-14 win over Taiwan’s Wang Po-wei.
Taiwan’s Ting Yen-chen and Kuo Kuan-lin were to play each other in the second round last night, after advancing with victories over sixth seed Priyanshu Rajawat and Joakim Oldorff respectively.
Liao Jhuo-fu and Huang Yu-kai of Taiwan also advanced.
In the women’s singles, Hsieh Yi-en was to face top seed Zhang Beiwen of the US, while third seed Sung Shuo-yun beat compatriot Tung Ciou-tong 11-21, 21-18, 21-17 to set up a second-round match against Denmark’s Amalie Schulz.
In the men’s doubles, the Taiwanese duo of Chang Ko-chi and Po Li-wei are to play compatriots Lai Po-yu and Tsai Fu-cheng in the second round, while sixth seeds Chen Zhi-ray and Lin Yu-chieh were to face Brazil’s Izak Batalha and Matheus Voigt.
Taiwan’s Chiang Chien-wei and Wu Hsuan-yi were to play eighth seeds Mael Cattoen and Lucas Renoir of France; Chen Cheng-kuan and Lin Bing-wei were to play Scottish twins Christopher Grimley and Matthew Grimley, who are seeded fourth; and He Zhi-wei and Huang Jui-hsuan would play Denmark’s Rory Easton and Alex Green.
In the women’s doubles, Taiwanese top seeds Hsu Yin-hui and Lin Jhi-yun earned a bye to the second round, as did second seeds Chang Ching-hui and Yang Ching-tun. They are to face Serena Kani of Indonesia and Tsavanne Mertosono of the US, and Australia’s Gronya Somerville and Angela Yu respectively.
Also into the second round were fifth seeds Hu Ling-fang and Jheng Yu-chieh, sixth seeds Hsu Ya-ching and Sung Yu-hsuan, and Chen Yan-fei and Sun Liang-ching.
In the mixed doubles, third seeds Chen Cheng-kuan and Hsu Yin-hui were to play Easton and Lizzie Tolman of Denmark, while Lin Yu-chieh and Hung yu-en were to face compatriots Chang Ko-chi and Lin Jhih-yun.
Po Li-wei and Chang Ching-hui were to take on sixth seeds Presley Smith and Jennie Gai of the US, and He and Chen Yan-fei were to play second seeds Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat of Thailand.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
RSS