Taiwan’s Liang En-shuo yesterday defeated Croatia’s Jana Fett to win her second-round qualifier to advance to the main draw of the women’s singles at the China Open in Beijing, while former US Open champion Emma Raducanu became the latest high-profile player to withdraw from the WTA 1000 tournament.
Liang handily beat Fett 6-1 in the first set, but the 23-year-old world No. 128 struggled to overpower the world No. 118 Fett 7-6 (7/9) to win the second and grab one of the 12 qualifier spots for the main tournament.
On Monday, Liang downed world No. 13 Sara Errani of Italy 6-1, 6-3 in 56 minutes.
Photo: Liang Wei-ming, Taipei Times
Liang is today to face world No. 53 Diane Parry of France in the first round of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka yesterday said that she wants to cap off a stellar year by returning to the top of the world rankings with a victory at the China Open, with main-draw play to begin today.
The world No. 2 is the top seed at the tournament following the withdrawal of top-ranked Iga Swiatek, the defending champion, because of undisclosed “personal matters.”
Raducanu also stepped down due to a foot injury, while former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and three-times Grand Slam runner-up Ons Jabeur have also decided to skip the Beijing event.
Raducanu has struggled with injuries since capturing the New York title in 2021 and spent most of last season recovering from ankle and wrist surgeries.
The 21-year-old sprained on Monday said she sustained the foot injury on Saturday in her Korea Open quarter-final against Daria Kasatkina.
Fresh from winning the US Open, Sabalenka can take a large step toward overhauling the Pole at the top of the rankings with victory in Beijing.
“Of course that’s one of my goals, to finish the season at world No. 1,” said the Belarusian, who won the Australian Open at the start of the year for a second time.
However, the 26-year-old said her main focus was on her game.
“I’m not trying to focus on that, I’m trying to focus on my game. There is only three tournaments left. I’m just trying to bring my best tennis on court. After the season, I’ll see if it was enough to finish the year at No. 1 or have to improve something else to get to No. 1.”
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
“Please love us. Please cheer us on. We have been working hard. Do not give up on us.” Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien’s heartfelt plea echoed across the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 tournament after a historic victory. Rather than boasting, Chen was making an earnest appeal after leading Taiwan to a 4-0 victory over Japan to claim their first major international baseball title at the senior level. Chen’s decisive three-run homer in the fifth inning and his Premier12 leading .632 batting average secured him the Premier12’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. He was also named one of the tournament’s outstanding defensive players
WELL-AGED: Although the youngest team in the tournament, Taiwan featured several veteran stars, including Sunday’s home-run hero Chen Chieh-hsien “I will never forget today,” veteran Taiwanese pitcher Chen Kuan-yu said after Taiwan on Sunday night blanked Japan to secure their first ever gold in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 championship. Chen, who at 34 is the oldest member on the team, said Taiwan “made every difficult step to come to today’s victory. I will never forget today.” Taiwan made history when they won their first gold medal of the Premier12 tournament, beating Japan in a 4-0 shutout victory in the final at the Tokyo Dome. It was a jaw-dropping victory for many baseball commentators who went into the game with
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
RSS