The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- China's Li into Australian Open second round
- Double bagel as Sharapova powers into round two
- Chong Wei gets off to a roaring start by clinching Korean Open title
| China's Li into Australian Open second round Posted: 13 Jan 2013 06:02 PM PST MELBOURNE: China's world number six Li Na overpowered Sesil Karatantcheva of Kazakhstan 6-1, 6-3 to reach the Australian Open second round on Monday. Li, the runner-up two years ago at Melbourne Park, established herself early in each set as she went through in 1hr 18min to set up a match with France's Pauline Parmentier or Olga Govorstova of Belarus. The 2011 French Open winner belted a deep forehand winner to claim the first game and she seized control by breaking for 3-1 and then 5-1, taking the set with ease. Karatantcheva made her work harder for the second set but her resistance ultimately proved futile as Li sealed her progression with a forehand winner.-AFP |
| Double bagel as Sharapova powers into round two Posted: 13 Jan 2013 05:41 PM PST MELBOURNE: World number two Maria Sharapova powered into the second round of the Australian Open on Monday, crushing hapless fellow Russian Olga Puchkova in a rare double bagel. Sharapova, the champion in 2008 and runner-up last year, stormed through 6-0, 6-0 in just 55 minutes and will next play either Croat Petra Martic or Misaki Doi of Japan. The second seed came into the season's opening Grand Slam without any competitive matches under her belt after a collarbone injury ruled her out of the Brisbane International, but showed no evidence of the problem on court. She opened her 2013 account on the showpiece Rod Laver Arena on a warm day but without the searing heat that gripped southeast Australia last week, winning her opening serve then breaking her 107th ranked opponent to take a 2-0 lead. Wearing a summery yellow dress and matching shoelaces, the 25-year-old used her powerful forehand to devastating effect, pushing Puchkova around the court at will as she raced to a 3-0 advantage. Puchkova, who was playing in her third Australian Open and is yet to go beyond the second round, had little answer to the Sharapova armoury, losing her next service game and netting a forehand to go 5-0 down. Grunting at full volume, Sharapova then wrapped up the set in just 30 minutes. Puchkova pushed her to deuce in the first game of the second set but didn't look like breaking her far superior opponent, and she quickly fell behind and never recovered, pushing a backhand long to cap a humiliating defeat. Playing in her 10th campaign at Melbourne Park, Sharapova is looking to avenge the humbling she was dealt by Victoria Azarenka in the final last year, when she was thrashed 6-3, 6-0 in just 82 minutes. Sharapova won in Melbourne in 2008 but then suffered a long spell on the sidelines with shoulder problems before climbing back to the top of women's tennis and completing a career Grand Slam at last year's French Open.-AFP |
| Chong Wei gets off to a roaring start by clinching Korean Open title Posted: 13 Jan 2013 06:25 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei got off to a dream and rewarding start to the new badminton season yesterday. The 30-year-old Malaysian turned on the power to show that he was back in business with a splendid 21-12, 21-15 win over Du Pengyu of China to win the men's singles title at the Korean Open Super Series Premier in Seoul. It was Chong Wei's third Korean Open title but probably the sweetest one. It made up for his disappointment at the BWF's World Super Series Finals in Shenzhen three weeks ago when he lost in a rubber game to Pengyu before withdrawing from the tournament with a thigh injury. Yesterday, though, a refreshed Chong Wei showed no signs of injuries or lethargy as he slammed down powerful smashes, showed precision in his tight netplays, entertained the crowd with his delayed drop shots and oozed confidence to prevent the 24-year-old Pengyu from winning his first career title. The only moment of anxiety was probably during the start of the second game when Pengyu scored four consecutive points to level the score at 8-8. Chong Wei, however, poured cold water on Pengyu's hot run with a powerful smash to regain the lead. After that, it was Chong Wei back in command all the way to the finish line. The win in badminton's richest tournament was worth a cool US$75,000 (RM227,000) to Chong Wei. He was thrilled with his roaring start. "I am back," said an overjoyed Chong Wei in a telephone interview. "It is great to start the year on a bright note. I was tired towards the end of last year and withdrew from the Super Series Finals because of the thigh injury. I have had a good rest and had quality time in training. And today, I was able to avenge my defeat to Pengyu," he added. Chong Wei will now shift his focus to the Maybank Malaysian Open Super Series starting at the Putra Stadium on Wednesday. "Now, I want to win another Malaysian Open title. It is always special to play at home and I will do my best to win it for my home fans. "The weather is extremely cold in Seoul. When I get back home tomorrow (today), it will be warm and sunny. I will have to make quick adjustments," said Chong Wei. In the absence of many top stars from China, the Malaysian has a golden chance to be most successful player in the history of the Malaysian Open. Last year, he equalled the record held by the late Wong Peng Soon when he won his eighth home title. "We are players from different era and there should be no comparisons. History aside, all I want to do is to focus on my game and go for the title," said Chong Wei, winner from 2004-2006 and 2008-2012. National singles coach Tey Seu Bock was pleased as punch with Chong Wei's early success to the season. "It was all about playing the right kind of game against Pengyu. After the defeat in Shenzhen, we studied Pengyu's game. Today, Chong Wei broke Pengyu's resolve and gave him no room to play his game," said Seu Bock. "Three weeks ago, Chong Wei looked jaded and not himself at the Super Series Finals in Shenzhen. Today, he was back to his usual confident self and I foresee a great year ahead for him," added Seu Bock. Meanwhile, the season-opener was not a good one for China, as their top women's singles star Wang Shixian went down 12-21, 20-22 to South Korean Sung Ju-hyun in the final. China only managed to take home two titles through Wang Xiaoli-Yu Yang (women's doubles) and Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei (mixed doubles). How Chong Wei won Results |
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