Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Japanese partner Eri Hozumi yesterday survived Russians Alexandra Panova and Irina Khromacheva to advance to the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Taiwan’s Ray Ho and German Hendrik Jebens won their men’s doubles opener.
Wu and Hozumi beat the Russian 11th seeds 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in 2 hours, 9 minutes in Melbourne to set up a second-round match against the US’ Sabrina Santamaria and Russia’s Maria Kozyreva.
Wu won two of her three WTA doubles titles early last year in the run-up to last year’s Australian Open with China’s Jiang Xingyu, who this year partnered with Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching.
Photo: AFP
Wu last year crashed out in the second round with Russia’s Anna Blinkova, after reaching the third round in 2024 with China’s Zhu Lin.
Chan and Jiang, seeded 14th, were yesterday knocked out in the first round in a narrow 5-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10/1) loss to Blinkova and Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan.
In men’s doubles, Ho and Jebens overcame seventh seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori of Italy 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 in 2 hours, 21 minutes.
Photo: AFP
Twenty-five-year-old Ho, a doubles specialist, won eight of his 11 doubles titles on the ATP Challenger Tour last year.
The Taiwanese-German pairing are next to face Briton Luke Johnson and Poland’s Jan Zielinski, who won the tournament’s mixed doubles title with Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei in 2024.
In men’s singles, nature-lover Novak Djokovic strolled into the Australian Open third round, sending 141st-ranked qualifier Francesco Maestrelli packing in straight sets at Rod Laver Arena.
Photo: AFP
The Serbian great, on his latest mission to win a record 25th Grand Slam title, dismissed the Italian 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Djokovic is well known for his sometimes unusual preparations, which include hugging a Brazilian fig tree in Melbourne’s botanical gardens.
“That is my oldest friend here in Melbourne,” said the 38-year-old former world No. 1, who has won 10 Australian Open titles, more than anyone in history. “He has been there to heal my wounds and give me company. We have a friendship going over 20 years.”
In an all-US clash, sixth seed Jessica Pegula made light work of McCartney Kessler in a rapid 6-0, 6-2 win.
However, the 58-minute annihilation of her doubles partner left Pegula with mixed feelings.
“Always tricky when you have to play someone that you know and that you like, and also that you’re playing doubles with,” she said. “That part was kind of just unfortunate, I guess, because, you know, we obviously want to see each other do well separately in singles, not when we have to play each other.”
Second seed Iga Swiatek, who has won six major titles, but never been successful in Melbourne, was in cruise control against Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic.
“I’m trying to appreciate every match, and take nothing for granted,” the Pole said after a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
An error-riddled Naomi Osaka left her parasol, hat and veil in storage before the Japanese superstar ground into the third round with a nervy 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win over Romanian Sorana Cirstea.
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
RSS