Taiwanese No. 1 Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the quarter-finals of the Taiwan Open in Kaohsiung yesterday, while top seed Venus Williams also claimed a spot in the last eight.
Sixth seed Hsieh defeated world No. 173 Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in 1 hour, 50 minutes on Center Court at the Yang-Ming Tennis Center.
The Taiwanese world No. 81 saved two of five break points and converted five of 13, winning 93 of the 173 points contested to set up a quarter-final against world No. 95 Elizaveta Kulichkova on Center Court today.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
Hsieh has a 2-0 career record against the Russian after victories in Sydney earlier this year and in the quarter-finals in Kuala Lumpur last year.
Earlier on Center Court, top seed Williams advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Urszula Radwanska of Poland.
Williams saved two of four break points and converted five of seven, winning 66 of the 118 points contested in 1 hour, 26 minutes.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
Williams faces Latvian world No. 103 Anastasija Sevastova for the first time in today’s quarter-finals.
Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland provided the upset of the day when she ousted Chinese fifth seed Zheng Saisai 6-4, 6-4 in the first match on Center Court.
World No. 117 Voegele saved four of eight break points and converted six of 11, winning 73 of the 135 points contested to complete the victory in 1 hour, 49 minutes.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
It was the Swiss player’s first victory over Zheng. The Chinese world No. 70 won their only previous match at the US Open in 2014.
Voegele faces third seed Yulia Putintseva in today’s quarter-finals. She has a 2-1 career record against the Kazakh world No. 64, including a quarter-final victory in Doha last year.
Also advancing was Japanese second seed Misaki Doi, who took just 73 minutes to ease past world No. 97 Magda Linette of Poland 6-2, 6-3.
The world No. 61 saved five of seven break points and converted five of eight, winning 61 of the 107 points contested to set up a quarter-final against fellow countrywoman seventh seed Kurumi Nara.
In the doubles, Japanese duo Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato ousted second-seeded Chinese pairing Liang Chen and Wang Yafan 6-2, 7-5 in the quarter-finals.
Hozumi and Kato converted five of seven break points and won 64 of the 106 points contested in 66 minutes to set up a semi-final against third-seeded Ukrainian sisters Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok, who defeated Kristina Kucova of Slovakia and Sevastova 7-6 (11/9), 4-6, 10-4.
Taiwanese sisters Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan, the top seeds, face Marina Melnikova of Russia and Minella in the remaining quarter-final on Center Court today.
Champagne corks often pop and loud, boisterous cheers are usually heard around Constitution Dock when the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honors winner finishes in the Tasmanian state capital. There were no such celebrations this year when the defending champions on board LawConnect won the race in the early hours of yesterday morning, as it came about 24 hours after two sailors died on separate boats in sail boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the race. LawConnect, a 100-foot super maxi skippered by Australian tech millionaire Christian Beck, sailed up the River Derwent at just after 2:30am.
‘BOWLINE’ AND ‘ARCTOS’: Roy Quaden was hit on the head by a boom, while Nick Smith was struck by the main sheet and thrown across the boat amid rough seas Two sailors have been killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, officials said yesterday, as a string of yachts retired in powerful winds and high seas. One of the crew members, 55-year-old Roy Quaden on Flying Fish Arctos, was hit on the head by a boom as the fleet raced down the New South Wales coast, race organizers said. The other man, 65-year-old Nick Smith, was struck by the main sheet aboard Bowline and thrown across the boat, said David Jacobs, vice commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. “Unfortunately, he hit his head on the winch, and
Liverpool on Thursday powered seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favorites survived a scare in their 3-1 win against Leicester City, while Bruno Fernandes was sent off in Manchester United’s dismal 2-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Erling Haaland missed a penalty as crisis-torn Manchester City failed to end their dismal run with a 1-1 draw against Everton, but it was United’s travails and Liverpool’s remarkable run that took center-stage. Arne Slot’s side were shocked by Jordan Ayew’s early strike at Anfield, but the leaders recovered their composure to equalize just before the interval through Cody
HAT-TRICK PREP: World No. 1 Sabalenka clinched her first win of the season, as she aims to become the first woman in 20 years to win three Australian Opens in succession Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini and Taylor Fritz yesterday all clocked impressive wins as tennis powerhouses Italy and the US surged into the quarter-finals of the mixed-team United Cup. World No. 3 Gauff swept past Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-2 to avenge a loss at the Paris Olympics, while Fritz took care of Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2 in searing Perth heat. That was enough to put the Americans — last year’s winners — into a last-eight clash with China today, while Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan today are to meet defending champions Germany, led by Alexander Zverev, in the other Perth quarter-final. In Sydney, the in-form
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