Taiwanese sisters Chan Yung-jan and Chan Hao-ching both had to rally from a set down on Wednesday to advance to the quarter-finals of their respective doubles tournaments at the Mallorca Open and Aegon Classic.
Top seeds Chan Yung-jan and Martina Hingis overcame a tricky encounter against Veronica Cepede Royg of Paraguay and Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain 5-7, 6-2, 10-7 on the grass courts in Mallorca.
The Taiwanese-Swiss duo saved three of six break points and converted four of seven in 1 hour, 19 minutes to advance to a quarter-final against Elise Mertens of Belgium and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands.
Photo: Screen grab from facebook
The Taiwanese played her first ever match in shorts after spending her fourth day in Mallorca still awaiting the arrival of her suitcase.
In Birmingham, England, younger sister Chan Hao-ching and Zhang Shuai also had to fight back from a set down against Alize Cornet of France and Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.
The Taiwanese-Chinese duo saved eight of 13 break points and converted five of 14 on their way to a 5-7, 6-3, 10-3 victory in 1 hour, 27 minutes at the Edgbaston Priory Club.
In the quarter-finals, Chan and Zhang face Shuko Aoyama of Japan and Yang Zhaoxuan of China, who comprehensively ousted third seeds Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Xu Yifan of China 6-3, 6-0.
In the singles, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova produced her most encouraging result since returning from a knife attack to advance to the quarter-finals.
The left-handed Czech hit 25 winners with 11 unforced errors as she easily beat fellow wild-card Naomi Broady of Britain 6-2, 6-2.
Kvitova has recently returned to action after sustaining a serious injury to her left hand — when she was stabbed by an intruder last year at her home in the Czech Republic — playing two matches on clay at the French Open.
“I have a little bit different view for tennis right now and for matches,” Kvitova said. “When I’m playing, I’m just a little bit more relaxed, I think, and I’m not as nervous as I was before.”
Kvitova hit some raking ground strokes, gradually made some enterprising net plays and widened her range of tactical choices as her confidence grew. There were some double faults, but when Kvitova needed to serve well, she did so, and at the end she was loudly cheered.
“I am trying to find my best each time I play,” Kvitova said. “I am here to play tennis and on the grass that I love. My tournament isn’t finished yet, for which I am really glad.”
Kvitova next faces either France’s Kristina Mladenovic, the fifth seed who ended Garbine Muguruza’s French Open title defense earlier this month, or world No. 31 Zhang.
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