Hsieh Su-wei yesterday claimed back-to-back victories at the Australian Open, while fellow Taiwanese Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan also triumphed on their bow at the first Grand Slam of the season.
Taiwanese No. 1 Hsieh advanced to the third round of the women’s singles with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Laura Siegemund of Germany in 1 hour, 33 minutes.
The Kaohsiung-born 28th seed hit 25 winners and took advantage of her opponent’s 38 unforced errors, while saving eight of 10 break points and converting four of 11 to advance to a third-round clash with reigning US Open champion Naomi Osaka.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Japanese fourth seed took just 64 minutes to see off the challenge of Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek 6-2, 6-4.
“I thought I served alright, this was my first time playing her and I’m just happy to win to be honest,” Osaka said after her victory.
Osaka is one of nine players in contention to overtake Simona Halep and claim the world No. 1 ranking at the end of the tournament, though she would have to reach the quarter-finals for the first time to have a chance.
The Japanese won her only previous meeting with Hsieh on the grass courts in Surbiton, England, in 2015, but is expecting a tough test.
“She’s been playing really well recently, so I just hope that it’s exciting,” Osaka said.
Hsieh later yesterday returned to Court 15 alongside Abigail Spears as the eighth seeds advanced to the second round of the women’s doubles with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Bernarda Pera of the US and Rebecca Peterson of Sweden in 1 hour, 24 minutes.
The Taiwanese-American duo won 96 percent of points on their first serve, converted three of eight break points and hit 26 winners to advance to a second-round clash with Samantha Stosur of Australia and Zhang Shuai of China, who defeated Slovakian duo Viktoria Kuzmova and Magdalena Rybarikova 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.
Also in the first round, the Chan sisters advanced with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Australian wild-cards Ellen Perez and Arina Rodionova in 1 hour, 26 minutes on Court 12.
The Taiwanese seventh seeds took advantage of their opponents’ five double faults and five unforced errors, saved all 10 break points they faced and converted both of the break points they created to advance to a second-round clash with Chinese duo Jiang Xinyu and Wang Qiang, who defeated Pauline Parmentier of France and Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-3, 6-4.
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
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