Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan was a two-time winner at the US Open on Friday, while Hsieh Su-wei saw her bid for women’s doubles glory ended at the final Grand Slam of the season taking place at Flushing Meadows in New York.
On Court 10 at the at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Taiwanese sisters Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan cruised into the third round of the women’s doubles with a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 victory over German duo Mona Barthel and Laura Siegemund in 1 hour, 18 minutes.
The ninth seeds saved eight of 11 break points and converted six of 11, winning 68 of the 117 points contested to set up a third-round clash with Romanian pairing Irina-Camelia Begu and Raluca Olaru, who upset eighth-seeded Spanish duo Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro 7-5, 6-4.
Photo: AFP
Chan Yung-jan then returned on Court 11, where the Taiwanese and Rohan Bopanna of India advanced to the second round of the mixed doubles with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Fernando Verdasco of Spain.
The second seeds saved two of three break points and converted three of nine, hitting 35 winners as they won 59 of the 113 points contested to set up a second-round clash on Court 7 yesterday with Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia and Alexander Peya of Austria, who ousted US pairing Christina McHale and Stefan Kozlov 7-6(7/5), 6-2.
Hsieh’s bid for women’s doubles glory was ended by Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and CoCo Vandeweghe of the US on Court 5.
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Tenth seeds Hsieh, a two-time victor on Thursday, and Anastasia Rodionova fell to a 7-5, 6-4 defeat after a hard-fought battle lasting 1 hour, 13 minutes.
The Taiwanese-Australian duo won two of three break points, but it was not enough as their opponents hit 23 winners, claiming 63 of the 120 points contested to set up a third-round clash with seventh-seeded Czech duo Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, who survived a second-set wobble to oust US pairing Tornado Alicia Black and Ingrid Neel 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
Hsieh was hoping to bounce back in the second round of the mixed doubles yesterday when she and Henri Kontinen of Finland were due to take on US duo Sachia Vickery and Frances Tiafoe on Court 5 following fellow Taiwanese Chuang Chia-jung’s tough women’s doubles second-round clash with top seeds Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Sania Mirza of India on the same court.
In the singles, Rafael Nadal made his earliest US Open exit in a decade, suffering his first Grand Slam defeat after leading by two sets, while Serena Williams rallied to keep her calendar Slam dream alive.
Spanish eighth seed Nadal, whose 14 Slam titles include the 2010 and 2013 US Open crowns, fell victim to 32nd-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Nadal had not lost so early on the New York hard courts since a third-round ouster in 2005 by American James Blake. The 29-year-old left-hander had been 151-0 in Slam matches when leading by two sets.
“He played great,” Nadal said. “It is not that I lost. He wins. I am not happy, but I accept he was better. I did not play bad. I fight until the last point. It was not enough.”
Fognini imposed seven consecutive service breaks upon Nadal in the fourth and fifth sets, smacking 70 winners past the iconic star in a fantastic effort.
“I cannot describe how happy I am,” Fognini said. “It was very tough. To do it against Rafa, two sets down. It was an incredible match.”
Fognini, 32, booked a last-16 date with 18th-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain, who eliminated Canadian 10th seed Milos Raonic 6-2, 7-6(7/4), 6-3.
Women’s world No. 1 Williams battled through mistakes and the tension of her quest for tennis history, fighting back to defeat 101st-ranked US compatriot Bethanie Mattek-Sands 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 and needs only four more triumphs to complete a first calendar Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.
Williams, holder of all four major titles, also seeks her 22nd career Slam singles crown to match Graf’s Open era record.
Three-time defending champion Williams, who could reach her first Grand Slam final without facing a top-10 foe, next plays US 19th seed Madison Keys.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic moved a step closer to his 10th career Slam crown and third of the year by defeating Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-3, 7-5, 7-5.
Next up is Spanish 23rd seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who advanced when 14th-seeded Belgian David Goffin retired while leading 6-2, 7-5, 3-6, 1-3.
A Grand Slam record 13 men have retired from matches at this tournament.
Croatian ninth seed Marin Cilic barely escaped, making the earliest exit of any defending champion since Andre Agassi in 1999 before outlasting 56th-ranked Kazak Mikhail Kukushkin 6-7(5/7), 7-6(7/1), 6-3, 6-7(3/7), 6-1.
Cilic next meets French 27th seed Jeremy Chardy, who ousted Spanish seventh seed David Ferrer 7-6(8/6) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Venus Williams, 35, eased sister Serena’s path to the final by ousting the top-rated rival on their side of the draw, defeating 12th-seeded Swiss teen Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4.
Venus, seeded 23rd, reached a fourth-round match against 152nd-ranked Estonian teen qualifier Anett Kontaveit and could face Serena after that.
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