GOLF
Taiwan’s Chien drops back
Kim A-lim on Friday birdied the final two holes for a seven-under 65 and the lead in the suspended second round of the rain-delayed LPGA Chevron Championship, while Taiwan’s Chien Pei-yun, the first-round leader, had dropped down the leaderboard. Thirty-one players were unable to finish the second round before it got dark in the first women’s major tournament of the season. After opening with a 71 on Thursday at The Club at Carlton Woods, Kim on Friday had eight birdies with just one bogey to reach eight-under 136. Americans Lilia Vu and Megan Khang were tied for second, a stroke behind. Chien shot a 67 in the first round, but remained at five-under with four holes to play in the second round, which was to resume after press time last night.
Photo: AFP
ATHLETICS
Challenge Taiwan starts
More than 8,000 triathletes from more than 20 countries lined up for the start of the 11th annual two-day Challenge Taiwan in Taitung County yesterday. Participants were to swim, cycle and run over a variety of distances, including full-distance (226km), half-distance (113km), Olympic (51.5km) and sprint (25.75km). The swimming portion was at Taitung Forest Park’s Flowing Lake, after which the athletes would cycle along a section of Provincial Highway No. 11 before finishing with a run to Tie Hua Village in Taitung City. Traffic controls would be in place across several road sections in Taitung County until 12pm today to make way for the cycling and running courses, the event’s organizers said.
TENNIS
Fellow Serb beats Djokovic
Novak Djokovic on Friday lost to a Serb countryman for the first time in 11 years. Dusan Lajovic won 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) in their quarter-final at the Srpska Opento to down a world No. 1-ranked player for the first time. “It is the biggest win of my career,” Lajovic said on court. “The emotions are very mixed because I’m playing here in front of the home town and I’m also playing against Nole, who is a good friend and he’s a hero of our country.” Djokovic’s previous loss to a fellow Serb was in 2012 to Janko Tipsarevic in Madrid. “Dusan is a fantastic person, great guy,” Djokovic said. “Someone I’ve known for a very long time, since he started playing professional tennis. So many times on the Davis Cup team together, trained together. I’m happy for him, to be honest. He deserved to win today.”
TENNIS
Swiatek advances to semis
Iga Swiatek on Friday rallied to beat Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 for a place in the Porsche Grand Prix semi-finals. She next faces third-seeded Ons Jabeur, who eliminated Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 6-0 in their quarter-final in Stuttgart. Second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka rallied to defeat Spain’s Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to advance, with her semi against Anastasia Potapova, who upset fourth-seeded Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. The semis were to be played after press time last night.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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