Taiwan's Chan Yung-jan and Chuang Chia-jung made an impressive start in their bid to win the women's doubles title at the Australian Open yesterday, earning a comfortable straight-sets victory over Alicja Rosolska and Maria Emilia Salerni.
Last year's finalists made short work of the Polish/Argentine duo, taking the first set 6-3 before further asserting their dominance by winning the second 6-1.
Meanwhile, Hsieh Su-wei claimed another Melbourne victory, this time with the help of Russia's Alla Kudryavtseva. After reaching the third round of women's singles on Wednesday, Hsieh teamed up with the Russian in the doubles yesterday to win a see-saw match against Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands and Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in three sets.
Hsieh and Kudryavtseva won the first set 6-4 before their opponents leveled the match, winning the second set by the same score. Hsieh and Kudryavtseva then took the deciding set 6-4.
The 22-year-old Taiwanese player moves into unchartered territory today when she plays Aravane Rezai of France in round three of the singles. It is the first time Hsieh has progressed so far in a Grand Slam tournament, and the prize of a probable match against world No. 1 Justine Henin awaits the winner.
First Hsieh has to get past Rezai, no easy task as the 19-year-old from St Etienne is ranked 89 spots above her. Rezai reached the fourth round of the US Open in 2006 and is in good form, having reached the final of the WTA tournament in Auckland earlier this month and disposed of No. 13 seed Tatiana Golovin in the previous round.
Past form offers no clues as to the result of today's clash, as Hsieh and Rezai have yet to meet in a WTA tournament.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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