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Kremlin Cup: round of 16 action riddled with upsets

By Harry Floyd

BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 30: Kristina Mladenovic of France returns a shot against Ying-Ying Duan of China on day one of the 2017 China Open at the China National Tennis Centre on September 30, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Emmanuel Wong/Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 30: Kristina Mladenovic of France returns a shot against Ying-Ying Duan of China on day one of the 2017 China Open at the China National Tennis Centre on September 30, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Emmanuel Wong/Getty Images) /
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Kremlin Cup action is underway in Moscow, Russia. The round of 16 sees several of the top seeded players failing to advance further.

Kremlin Cup action is witnessing several unexpected upsets this week.

Play in Moscow during the round of 16 sees several of the top seeded players failing to advance. Top seed Kristina Mladenovic falls to Belarusian tennis player Aliaksandra Sasnovich. The world No. 13 drops the match to Sasnovich 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.

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Also seeing an upset in the round of 16 was second seed CoCo Vandeweghe. The American tennis player had a seesaw three-set match in her opener against Lesia Tsurenko. The Ukrainian wins the match 7-5, 1-6, 6-2.

With upsets riddling the round of 16, the path to the title at the 2017 Kremlin Cup is wide open.

Fourth seed Anastasija Sevastova and sixth seed Daria Gavrilova also saw early exits from the WTA Tour event. Several players now look to take advantage of the thinning field.

The top remaining player in the round of 16 is third seed Elena Vesnina. The world No. 20 has one WTA singles title on the year and has the backing of the home crowd. If she can advance through to the next round of play, Vesnina will be the player to beat in Moscow. Already through is unseeded rising star Daria Kasatkina. The young Russian tennis player is having a career year and could be poised to make a splash in Moscow.

Next: Sharapova cruises to Tianjin title

Earlier in the week, former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova dropped her opener at the Kremlin Cup. Despite coming off of a title victory at the 2017 Tianjin Open, Sharapova was unable to carry that momentum into play this week. She is yet to win a title in Moscow throughout her career. While the early round loss is disappointing for Sharapova, she does appear to be regaining her rhythm on the WTA Tour.

Beyond the Kremlin Cup, qualified players are looking ahead to the WTA Finals in Singapore. The field of eight is set and should provide fans with a fantastic end of season tournament. The 2017 WTA Tour has featured many rising stars in women’s singles tennis and the finals may very well see a brand new champion at year’s end.

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