Angelique Kerber left Singapore in a bad-tempered huff a year ago after she failed to advance from the round-robin stage of the WTA Finals, a collapse which made the German determined to make amends on her return.
On Sunday, world No. 1 Kerber dug deep to edge Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 6-3 in her opening Red Group tie, emerging victorious from a baseline slugfest after managing to keep her emotions in check and her focus on victory.
Her smiles in the media center were in sharp contrast to the frown she wore last year when, after needing only to win a set off the already eliminated Lucie Safarova, Kerber buckled under the pressure and was bundled out of the tournament by her Czech opponent.
Photo: EPA
“Yeah, it was for sure a little bit better than the last match I played here against Safarova last year, but it’s always tough to play the first matches here,” a relieved, but happy Kerber told reporters at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. “Of course, the pressure is really big for me, but it’s a new situation. I’m really happy that I dealt with it well today in the first match for me.”
Last year’s meltdown prompted Kerber to overhaul her approach to high-pressure situations, and she vowed to never let her emotions get the better of her on court and instead channel her energy into playing better.
The new maturity has worked wonders for the 28-year-old, who stunned Serena Williams in the Australian Open final in January, reached the Wimbledon final in July and usurped the American as world No. 1 after claiming the US Open title last month.
Photo: Reuters
“The pressure is different for me now, it’s a different situation and I have a lot more commitments to fulfill when I come here compared to before, but it’s a challenge for me and I’m really trying to play my best tennis in the last tournament, in the last week of the season. Of course, now I’m a little bit relaxed after I won,” Kerber said. “It gives me much more confidence to go into the next match after the first win. So I think it’s a good start for me. It was a really close and tough match, so I think that was also really important, to have a match like that in the first round.”
Kerber is next on court today when she takes on Romania’s Simona Halep, who opened her campaign with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Madison Keys in the late match on Sunday.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two