Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) on Tuesday advanced beyond the first round of the women’s singles event at Wimbledon for the first time in her career, while Chan Yung-jan (詹詠然) again fell victim to a tough draw at the grass court event.
Hsieh, who stunned the tennis world when she reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open in January, had not won a singles match in a main women’s tour event since.
But she once again raised her game on a big stage, committing only 15 unforced errors and being broken only once despite serving erratically to whip France’s Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-3, 6-2 in just over an hour.
Rarely troubled by the Frenchwoman, the 116th-ranked Hsieh took command of the first set when she broke Cohen-Aloro in the sixth game and never looked back, showing no signs of the injuries that have plagued her since her unforgettable run in Melbourne.
With the victory, Su became the first Taiwanese female player to advance to the second round of the tournament since Wang Shi-ting (王思婷) reached the same stage of the event in 1997 and 1998.
But if Su wants to advance further, she will have to get by French Open finalist Dinara Safina of Russia.
Not an easy task. Just ask Chan.
Taiwan’s top-ranked singles player, who drew second seed Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon last year, was once again paired with a top 10 seed, and she eventually succumbed to the ninth-seeded Safina 7-6 (8), 6-2 in 84 minutes.
Chan told reporters she felt confident and relaxed against her friend and occasional doubles partner Safina.
She said she knew that, aside from her serve and determination, Safina does not have any big weapons.
Neither player faced a break point in the first set as the set went to a pressure-filled tiebreaker, which Safina won 10-8 after fighting off two Chan set points at 6-5 and 8-7.
The Russian quickly took control of the second set, playing far more aggressively and keeping Chan on the defensive.
She broke Chan in the second and seventh games, winning the set in only 26 minutes and thwarting the Taiwanese 18-year-old’s hopes of advancing to the second round of a grand slam singles event for the first time in her career.
“I was very satisfied with the way I played in the first set,” Chan said later. “But in the second set, Safina went on the attack. I tried to counter her shots, but was always under pressure and couldn’t turn the situation around.”
Chan and regular doubles partner Chuang Chia-jung (莊佳容), who have qualified for this year’s Olympic Games and may be the top seeds there, were to open their doubles campaign at Wimbledon last night.
Chan clearly has one eye on Beijing, where the doubles final falls on her birthday, Aug. 17.
“I’m excited and honored [to have qualified for the Olympics],” Chan said. “I really want to hold on to the final so I can play on my birthday when I will definitely have the most luck.”
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