Hsieh upsets world number 1 Halep at Wimbledon
Wimbledon, July 8 (IANS) Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei earned the biggest win of her singles career on Saturday after upsetting world number 1 Simona Halep of Romania 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the third round of the Wimbledon tennis championships.
World number 48 Hsieh’s come-from-behind win leaves Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, world number 8, as the last Top 10 player still left in the tournament, reports Efe.
“This year I have tried to enjoy more, not just tennis but life, food, strawberries and cream. I am really enjoying playing tennis, I just feel free on the court,” Hsieh said following the match, which lasted two hours and 20 minutes.
Hseih was down 2-5 in the last set, but saved a match point then pushed back with a five-game winning streak to seal the win.
This was the fourth victory against a Top 10 player for Hsieh, 32, although the former women’s doubles world number 1 had never before defeated a current singles world number 1.
Hsieh is set to play the last-16 round against Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova, world number 33, who eliminated world number 15 Elise Mertens of Belgium.
Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, world number 56, upset world number 26 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) to qualify for the fourth round.
Bencic, a former world number 7, earned her victory after 85 minutes against the last remaining Spanish player in the tournament, one of only four Spaniards who made it to the third round this year.
Three years ago, Suarez Navaro had beaten Bencic at Stuttgart in a clay-court duel, but the Swiss player emerged victorious on Wimbledon’s grass.
Bencic, who staged a strong return to competitive play at Wimbledon after being sidelined for several months due to injury, will next face off against former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber of Germany, currently world number 10.
