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.”
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland to push their NBA-best record to 37-8. The Thunder, surprised by the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, fended off a late surge from the Trail Blazers to snap their four-game winning streak. Jalen Williams scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe added 16 off the bench. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, back after a five-game absence with a calf injury, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a big block. The Western Conference leaders were under pressure late as Portland, trailing by 15 heading
The Golden State Warriors on Wednesday withstood Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52-point outburst to beat the Western Conference leading Thunder 116-109. Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as Golden State erased a double-digit deficit and pulled away late for the victory. “We just stayed solid,” said Curry, who entered the contest mired in a shooting slump and had just four points on one basket in the first half. “Just all-around effort.” The Thunder, fueled by 31 first-half points from Gilgeous-Alexander, led by as many as 14 in the
Ousmane Dembele on Wednesday scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 4-1 win at VfB Stuttgart and qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. PSG were at risk of elimination after a disappointing league stage, with three losses and a draw, but were utterly dominant against an outclassed Stuttgart side as they confirmed their place in the playoffs. With six minutes gone, Bradley Barcola headed PSG in front after Desire Doue stood a cross up at the back post following a corner. Stuttgart probed for an equalizer, but PSG hit on the counterattack, Dembele tapping a Barcola pass into an
RSS