NO PRESSURE:Kaohsiung-born Hsieh Su-wei has never before faced world No. 1 Serena Williams and she goes into the second-round singles clash with nothing to lose

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 19, 2016
By: Dave Carroll / Staff reporter

Hsieh Su-wei rallied from a set down to advance to a first-ever meeting with

world No. 1 Serena Williams at the Australian Open yesterday, while fellow Taiwanese Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan were handed the second seeding in the women’s doubles at Melbourne Park.

World No. 90 Hsieh fought back from 3-6, 0-4 down against Latvian world No. 81 Jelena Ostapenko, completing a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory in a minute short of two hours on Court 5.

The Taiwanese saved seven of 13 break points and converted eight of 12, taking advantage of her opponent’s 15 double faults and 62 unforced errors to win 104 of the 197 points contested to advance to a second-round clash with 21-time Grand Slam winner Williams.

The Kaohsiung-born 30-year-old, who won her only two WTA Tour singles titles in Kuala Lumpur and Guangzhou in 2012, but who has two Grand Slam doubles titles to her name, will have nothing to lose against the world’s top-ranked player, who has won 69 singles titles.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 16, 2016
By: Paul Huang / Contributing reporter

Chou Yi-hsiang’s tip-in basket off a missed attempt by Chu Yi-tsung with 1.4

second remaining on the game clock turned a 62-63 deficit into a 64-63 lead and the red-hot Dacin Tigers held off Taiwan Beer to win by the same score at the Banciao Gymnasium in New Taipei City last night

It was the Tigers’ eighth win their past nine outings.

“I guess I was in the right place at the right time,” Chou said after rallying his club from behind to top the Brew Crew in a game that could have gone either way.
The Tigers’ emerging superstar tied a season-high with six three-pointers on a 24-point effort to lift his team past a feisty Brew Crew in a win that pushed the Tigers up a notch to force a two-way tie for second in the standings.

They trail league-leading Pure Youth Construction by 1.5 games.     [FULL  STORY]

Bangkok Post
Date: 13 Jan 2016
By: AFP

MIAMI – Taiwanese left-handed pitcher Chen Wei-Yin has agreed to a

five-year Major League Baseball contract worth $80 million (73.7 million euros) with the Miami Marlins, according to the team’s website.

The deal reportedly includes an opt-out clause after two years and a sixth season option for Chen, a 30-year-old free agent who had been a starter for the Baltimore Orioles since 2012. The Orioles will get a 2016 second-round draft pick in return.

Chen went 11-8 with a 3.34 earned-run average over 31 starts last year and in four North American seasons since leaving Japan’s Chunichi Dragons has gone 46-32 with a 3.72 earned-run average over 706 2/3 innings in 117 starts.

Chen’s contract is by far the richest ever award to a pitcher by the Marlins, who have been more than four years since signing a veteran free agent hurler.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/07
By: Bien Chin-fen and Romulo Huang

Taipei, Jan. 7 (CNA) Taiwanese pitcher Chien-Ming Wang (王建民) flew to the United States Thursday, seeking to continue his professional career in Major League Baseball (MLB).

Prior to his departure, Wang told reporters at the airport that he will enhance his self-training programs after arriving in the U.S. and expects that he could make good pitches at any moment. “All I can do now is to prepare myself to present a good performance at any moment for any team,” he said.

Meanwhile, he thanked his fans for the long-lasting support they have granted him, expressing the hope that he could make it back to MLB some day.

Together with his family members, Wang returned to Taiwan in early December after ending the 2015 season in Triple-A with the Seattle Mariners.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/06
By: Ku Chuan and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) is planning to complete

a bicycle tour from Taiwan’s capital Taipei in the north to Kaohsiung city in the south in just 21 hours on Jan. 9, to promote Velo-city Global Conference 2016, which his city will host next month.

Yang Ching-tang (楊景棠), a top aide of the city government’s Department of Information and Tourism, told reporters that the mayor recently completed several cycling rides in Taiwan, and he is now ready to challenge himself to a 21-hour two-wheel tour from Taipei to Kaohsiung.

Taipei will become the first Asian city ever to host the Velo-city Global Conference, the premier international cycling conference in the world, organized by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) with the purpose of improving the planning and provision of infrastructure for the daily use of bicycles in urban environments.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/05
By: Lee Yu-cheng and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Jan. 5 (CNA) American tennis star Venus Williams said Tuesday that

she is excited about her upcoming trip to Taiwan for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Taiwan Open tournament, scheduled for Feb. 6-14 in Kaohsiung, and is looking forward to spending the Chinese New Year here.

Williams, the world’s No.7, said in video that she will play at the Yang-Ming Tennis Center and is inviting her fans to “celebrate the Chinese New Year” with her in Taiwan.

Williams will be one of 12 players in the world’s top 100 rankings to compete in the WTA Taiwan Open, which carries a total purse of US$500,000.

Taiwanese tennis players, including Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇), Chuang Chia-jung (莊佳容), Chang Kai-chen (張凱貞), Chan Jung-jan (詹詠然) and Chan Hao-ching (詹皓晴), will all participate in the tournament in the southern port city.

Ticket sales will begin at noon on Jan. 6 for the first ever WTA tournament to be held in Taiwan.     [FULL  STORY]