India's Sania Mirza paid dearly for not taking advantage of her numerous break point chances to crash out of the Hobart International in the quarter-finals yesterday.
The sixth seed looked to be heading for the semi-finals when she levelled the match in the second set for the loss of just one game, but Italian Flavia Pennetta came roaring back to win 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 in 92 minutes.
Mirza, who finished last year at 31 on the WTA rankings, converted just five of 12 break point opportunities while Pennetta capitalized on five of eight.
"It was not a very good match for people to watch," the Italian said. "There were a lot of mistakes from both players."
Pennetta said she was nervous before the match but regrouped in the final set to progress to the semis.
Pennetta will have Greece's Eleni Daniilidou as her semi-final opponent after the 1.82m 25-year-old Greek ousted Australian Casey Dellacqua 6-4, 7-5 in the night match.
In the battle of the qualifiers, American Ashley Harkleroad had a straight sets win over Romania's Edina Gallovits.
It took the 22-year-old 92 minutes to reach her first Hobart semi-final with a 6-4, 6-4 victory.
Harkleroad will take on Russian second seed Vera Zvonareva, who defeated countrywoman Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-3.
Zvonareva is the only seed to reach the semi-finals of the Hobart tournament.
"I think I did pretty good," Zvonareva said. "It was a tough match but I am happy to get through."
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS