Taiwan’s Hsieh earns a crack at Hua Hin crown
Experienced Taiwanese ends Golubic’s fine run at semi-final stage with a straight-set triumph
>> Taiwanese Hsieh Su-Wei marched into the final of the WTA EA Hua Hin Championship with a straight-set victory over Swiss Viktorija Golubic at True Arena Hua Hin yesterday.
Her opponent in today’s final will be another Swiss player, world No.165 Belinda Bencic.
The 20-year-old Bencic yesterday defeated sixth seed and world No.115 Ana Bogdan of Romania 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 in the second semi-final.
The 31-year-old Hsieh, who is ranked No.96 in the world, was off to a great start in the first semi-final.
Hsieh displayed good footwork and never relinquished her control as she took a commanding 5-3 lead before wrapping up the first set in the ninth game.
Golubic, 25, put on an improved show in the second set and made things difficult for her experienced opponent.
The two players were engaged in an absorbing battle as they took the score to 6-6 before the fourth seeded Taiwanese held her nerves to claim the tie-breaker 7-4 and book her place in the final.
Golubic and Bogdan, the two losing semi-finalists, received US$6,000 (approximately 200,000 baht) each plus 57 world ranking points .
The final will be played today at the same venue, starting 5pm.
MURRAY’S COMEBACK
Former world No.1 Andy Murray is targeting a return to competitive tennis at the Brisbane International in January in the lead-up to the Australian Open.
The 30-year-old Scot has been sidelined with a hip problem since Wimbledon but returned to the court for a charity event in Glasgow, losing a three-set match to a kilt-wearing Roger Federer last week.
“My hip felt pretty good, not perfect yet but it’s going in the right direction,” Murray said after the relaxed one-hour, 40-minute hit with Federer.
“I’ve got eight weeks until my first tournament of next year and hopefully I’ll be there.”
The Dec 31-Jan 7 Brisbane International, which will feature world No.1 Rafa Nadal among other top players, is a key warm-up to the year’s first grand slam, which starts at Melbourne Park a week later.
Murray, whose ranking has slipped to 16, said he planned to do his usual pre-season training bloc in Miami before arriving in Australia early.
“Obviously coming into the beginning of the New Year I will be at a bit of a disadvantage because I have not played matches for a long time,” he told British media.
“So if I can go there a little bit earlier to get used to the conditions, a bit sooner than some of the other players, that might help level it up a little bit for me.”
Caution is the watchword for the Scot, who admitted he had erred in trying to play the US Open in August rather than resting his troublesome hip.