Chan Yung-jan on Friday kept her bid for a fifth title of the season on track at the Mallorca Open as the Taiwanese and Martina Hingis took just 59 minutes to advance to the final of the doubles.
The Taiwanese-Swiss top seeds defeated Nicole Melichar of the US and Anna Smith of Britain 6-3, 6-3 on the grass courts on the Spanish island as they eyed their fourth title of the season and Chan’s fifth, after she claimed the Taiwan Open title with younger sister Chan Hao-ching in Taipei in February.
The tops seeds saved all three break points they faced and converted three of 10 to advance to a final against either Jelena Jankovic and Anastasija Sevastova or Julia Goerges and Xenia Knoll, who were to play after press time last night.
Photo: EPA
The Taiwanese-Swiss duo will be looking to claim their fourth title of the season today after lifting the trophies in Indian Wells, Madrid and Rome earlier this season.
In the singles, second seed Anastasija Sevastova on Friday dispatched Croatian Ana Konjuh to reach the semi-finals as she bids to go one better than last year.
The tricky Latvian beat the seventh seed 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7/5) to set up a clash with Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, who beat her in last year’s final.
Third seed Garcia had a busy day, finishing off her second- round match against Slovakia’s Jana Cepelova before returning later to beat Italy’s Roberta Vinci.
Vinci had set points in the second set, but Garcia scraped through a tense second-set tiebreak for a 6-2, 7-6 (10/8) win.
In the other half, Julia Goerges beat fellow German Sabine Lisicki 6-2, 6-4, while Catherine Bellis of the US beat Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2.
In England, Czech Petra Kvitova continued her impressive comeback by moving into the Aegon Classic semi-finals with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) win over France’s Kristina Mladenovic on Friday.
QUEEN’S
AP, LONDON
Gilles Muller and Feliciano Lopez continued to defy age and their unseeded status as they progressed to the semi-finals of the Queen’s Club Championship on Friday.
Lopez, 35, saved a match point on his serve en route to ousting seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych in three sets, while Muller, 34, overcame Sam Querrey in straight sets.
“I’m a little bit old. I’m going to be 36, but I’m enjoying the moment a lot and I think I’m playing some of my best tennis,” Lopez said. “It’s been a great run this week, especially today saving a match point against a great player like Tomas.”
After exchanging tiebreak wins, Lopez and Berdych played out a high-quality decider.
The Spaniard saved a match point at 4-5 before turning the tables on Berdych to prevail 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (7/1), 7-5.
Dimitrov came through a topsy-turvy encounter with Daniil Medvedev of Russia 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
“It was a very tricky match. It’s never easy to play a guy you’ve never played before,” Dimitrov said. “He definitely surprised me.”
Despite his unseeded status, Muller is the tournament’s form player.
He defeated Querrey 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) to stretch his winning run to seven matches after claiming a grass-court title in the Netherlands last week.
“In the important moments I’m able to bring out some great shots,” the Luxembourg player said. “It’s a great feeling when you get that many matches in a row. It gives me a big boost and a lot of confidence.”
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Manchester United on Thursday settled for a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie. United led on Joshua Zirkzee’s goal in the 58th minute, but the hosts equalized 12 minutes later after Bruno Fernandes’ hand ball and Mikel Oyarzabal sent Andre Onana the wrong way from the penalty spot. The Europa League could be a way for United to finish the season with a trophy after crashing out of the FA Cup on Sunday. A spot in the quarter-finals is to be on the line at Old Trafford in the second leg on Thursday next
RSS