Players React To Taipei Earthquake

A 5.6 earthquake hit Taipei, Taiwan, on Wednesday night, but it didn’t faze the players competing in this week’s ATP Challenger Tour event there.

The earthquake was the first of 26 to rock eastern Taiwan between 11:17 p.m. on Wednesday and 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, and was also recorded as the strongest one. Luckily, there were no reports of damage or injuries and it was business as usual on Thursday for the players still on site this week.

“I was sleeping when it happened,” said Luke Saville. “It was a little bit scary, but it was okay once I realised what it was.”

Although this was the first earthquake many of the players had experienced, others were more well-versed in dealing with them.

“It happened when I played in Los Angeles and then in Japan for Davis Cup,” said Amir Weintraub. “This one wasn’t too big, though.”

Semi-final action in Taipei kicks off on Saturday and features No. 1 seed Ricardas Berankis, who is currently on a 13-match winning streak and looking for his third consecutive ATP Challenger Tour title.