Taiwan is guaranteed to be represented in the Qatar Total Open doubles final today after both Hsieh Su-wei and Chan Hao-ching successfully negotiated their quarter-finals on Thursday.
In the opening match on Court 1 in Doha, Chan and Casey Dellacqua raced to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic in just 55 minutes.
The Taiwanese-Australian duo saved four of eight break-point chances and converted seven of 14 to advance to yesterday’s semi-finals, as world No. 35 Chan seeks her sixth career WTA doubles title and the second this year after winning in Pattaya, Thailand, with her sister Yung-jan.
Photo: EPA
Chan and Dellacqua were due to face Hsieh and Sania Mirza in the semi-finals yesterday on center court after the top seeds crushed Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-0, 6-1 in just 49 minutes in their quarter-final.
The Taiwanese-Indian duo saved the only break-point opportunity they faced and converted five of nine to set up yesterday’s Taiwanese showdown.
World No. 6 Hsieh is seeking her 18th career WTA doubles title in Doha and the first with new partner world No. 5 Mirza, who has 23, including the Apia International Sydney last month when she partnered Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US.
Yesterday’s other semi-final was to be contested by second-seeded Russian duo Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina and fourth-seeded US pairing Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears.
In the singles quarter-finals on Thursday, Venus Williams beat Agnieszka Radwanska for the second time this year to line up two-time champion Victoria Azarenka in yesterday’s semi-finals.
Williams, who beat Radwanska to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals last month, won 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, the third time in four days she has gone the distance.
Azarenka, the 2012 and 2013 champion who received a wild card, beat third seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-1 in another repeat result from the Australian Open.
Meanwhile, top seed Petra Kvitova was ousted by Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 for the second time in two weeks. Suarez Navarro also beat Kvitova last week in the third round in Dubai.
The Spaniard’s semi-final opponent was due to be Czech Lucie Safarova, who dispatched sixth seed Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-2, 6-1.
Williams started her quarter-final with a break, wobbled during the second set, but was quick to recoup in the decider, in which fourth seed Radwanska mounted a late challenge. Williams sealed her first semi-final in Doha with a forehand winner down the line.
“I just tried to stay focused because she wasn’t going to let up,” Williams said after the 2 hour, 16 minute match.
Williams has won all four of her previous matches against Azarenka, but was expecting to endure another long day.
“Every match [this week] has been three sets, so it’s been really challenging,” Williams said. “No one gives you a point, you have to fight, fight, fight for each point, and I guess it’ll be more of that tomorrow [Friday].”
ABIERTO MEXICANO
AP, ACAPULCO, Mexico
Top seed Maria Sharapova of Russia beat Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 on Thursday night to reach the Abierto Mexicano Telcel women’s singles semi-finals.
Sharapova was due to face third seed Caroline Garcia of France in the hard-court event at the Fairmont Acapulco Princess. Garcia led Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-2, 2-1 when the Croatian player retired.
In the other quarter-finals, Bulgaria’s Sesil Karatantcheva topped Monica Puig of Puerto Rico, 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, and fifth seed Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland defeated Johanna Larsson of Sweden 6-3, 6-3.
In the men’s singles, top seed Kei Nishikori of Japan beat fifth seed Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-4, 6-4.
Nishikori was due to face fourth seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa in yesterday’s semi-finals. Anderson was a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 winner over Serbia’s Viktor Troicki.
ARGENTINA OPEN
AP, BUENOS AIRES
Second seed Tommy Robredo of Spain defeated Renzo Olivo of Argentina 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Argentina Open on Thursday.
Robredo cruised to victory against the world No. 186th, breaking the Argentine’s service twice in each set to win the match in just over an hour.
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