China’s Peng Shuai beat Ayumi Morita of Japan 6-1, 6-4 to claim the OEC Taipei Ladies Open singles title yesterday, while Taiwanese duo Chang Kai-chen and Chuang Chia-chung defeated Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Sania Mirza of India 6-4, 6-2 to land the doubles title.
It was No. 5 seed Peng’s first tournament win at the Taipei Arena, while Chuang defended her title, albeit with a different partner, having triumphed last year with compatriot Chan Yung-jan.
The contest between Peng and Morita was more even than the score suggests, but the world No. 95’s victory owed much to her ability to conjure up superb winners when it mattered most.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Morita dropped her serve in the fourth game of the first set, but Peng had to fight back from 0-40 in the next, an ace making it deuce. That was only the beginning of the drama though, as seven more deuces followed, as well as three more break-points that the Japanese failed to grab. Consecutive aces from Peng won the game.
A fantastic forehand at full stretch that landed smack on the line earned Peng another break in the next game and she took the set with a spectacular running backhand on her first set-point in game seven.
Both players had trouble holding their serve in the second set, but a cross-court backhand winner from Peng earned the most decisive break to leave her to serve for the title at 5-4.
Photo: EPA
Another backhand winner made it match-point and a forehand winner ended the contest.
Peng proved a worthy champion, having lost only one set all week, and displayed the kind of form that might see her get somewhere near her previous best singles ranking of 31 in the near future.
The 24-year-old, who overcame a childhood heart problem before embarking on her tennis career, must have a good shout at claiming gold on home soil at the Asian Games in Guangzhou later this month.
Photo: CNA
In a courtside interview after the match, Morita, who is also taking part in the Asian Games, said she would be back in Taipei next year. No doubt she’ll be hoping to make it third time lucky, having lost in last year’s final too.
In the day’s second title decider, Chuang showed why she is regarded as one of the best doubles players in the world, while Chang looked like the latest addition to an impressive collection of Taiwanese female doubles players.
Their comfortable victory over the No. 2 seeds, Hsieh and Mirza, both accomplished doubles players, was achieved despite them not being regular doubles partners and they too only dropped one set all week.
TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Reuters, BALI, Indonesia
Ana Ivanovic ended the season on a positive note by defeating Alisa Kleybanova 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) in the final of the Tournament of Champions in Bali yesterday.
Ivanovic weathered some heavy hitting from her Russian opponent, before breaking to lead 4-2 and she then won the final 11 points of the first set.
Kleybanova broke to lead 2-1 in the second, but Ivanovic immediately broke back with a stunning winner down the line and her resilience under pressure, together with some fine serving, continued to give her the advantage.
Ivanovic faced a crisis at 5-5, but saved two break-points and went on to claim victory with her eighth ace of the match.
In the third-fourth place playoff earlier yesterday, Japan’s Kimiko Date Krumm defeated Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 7-5, 7-5.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
RSS