Gauff dismantled, Azarenka upsets at Day 1 of WTA’s W&S Open
The WTA’s Western & Southern Open got off to a great start. Coco Gauff was ousted by 13th-seeded Maria Sakkari and Victoria Azarenka took down Donna Vekic with ease. Here is a recap of Day 1.
Day 1 of the Western & Southern Open kicked off with a bang. 10 singles matches were played today and were headlined by Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari, Donna Vekic, and Venus Williams. This marked the largest tournament since the WTA’s restart.
They had previously played events in Palermo, Prague, and Lexington, which were all 32-player events. This, however, is a Premier 5 event and has twice that amount. Here are some of the notable results and best matches from today’s 8 hours of action.
(13) Maria Sakkari def. Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-3
Many speculated that Coco Gauff would be a darkhorse frontrunner to take the title given her strong performance in Lexington last week. That wasn’t the case, however, as she was quickly overpowered in just over an hour by 13th-seeded Maria Sakkari.
Sakkari’s victory was sheer domination; her court overage and effectiveness on offense had Gauff rattled for the entirety of the match. Sakkari’s “power”, more so the power to effectively win points on the ground using angles rather than pure speed and fire, was the key to her victory. Her performance on serve was incredible, as well. She won 21-of-25 points off her first serve (or 84%) in comparison to a paltry 60% for Gauff. While not a bad performance on serve for her (the pair finished with 4 aces and 3 double faults apiece), it was the overall command of each point by Sakkari that gave her the edge.
Victoria Azarenka def. (15) Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3
While Vekic didn’t have the best showing in Palermo two weeks ago (She lost in the Round of 16 to Elisabetta Coccieretto), she looked to be a sneaky candidate to make a run to the later rounds this time around.
Other than Sofia Kenin, her quarter wasn’t anything overly difficult, which gave her a supreme opportunity to enter a projected R3 matchup with the 2020 Australian Open champion with some confidence. Her serve woes ultimately cost her the match and Azarenka’s proficiency in the same category only put her deeper in the hole.
Vekic’s serve was extremely underwhelming throughout the entire match. She served 49% from her first serve and threw in 7 double faults for good measure. Azarenka, on the other hand, threw down 7 aces in just over 70 minutes of play. Vekic was completely out of it on the return, as well. The two-time major champion won 7 of her 9 service games, with both breaks coming after each set was out of reach for Vekic.
It’s shocking that she wasn’t able to put together a stronger showing, especially considering Azarenka’s loss to Venus Williams last week in Lexington (it was a routine victory for Williams). This, for better or worse, is simply how tennis goes.
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Other Notable Results
- 16th-seeded Dayana Yastremska outlasted Venus Williams in a two-hour, 35-minute three-set thriller to advance to the Round of 32 (5-7, 6-2, 7-5)
- Allison Riske (seeded 11th) was defeated in a quick 71 minutes by WTA World #28, Amanda Anisimova. Anisimova will move to face the winner of Jennifer Brady (the Top Seed Open champion) and Jessica Pegula. (3-6, 3-6)
- Elena Rybakina, the #9 Seed and the highest-seeded player competing today, lost in an extremely close 7-5, 7-6 (6) two sets to Ekaterina Alexandrova. The pair combined for 13 aces and 13 double faults (which was a daily high in today’s matches).
Day 1 Match Results (Round of 64)
Ekaterina Alexandrova def. (9) Elena Rybakina 7-5, 7-6 (6)
Amanda Anisimova def. (11) Allison Riske 6-3, 6-3
(13) Maria Sakkari def. Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-3
Victoria Azarenka def. (15) Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3
(16) Dayana Yastremska def. Venus Williams 5-7, 6-2, 7-5
Alize Cornet def. Caty McNally 6-0, 6-4
Veronika Kudermetova def. Ajla Tomljanovic 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
Kristina Mladenovic def. Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-4
Bernarda Pera def. Heather Watson 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
Karolina Muchova def. Ann Li 6-4, 6-4
Day 2 Full Schedule (Round of 64)
11:00 AM EST
Grandstand: (12) Anett Kontaveit vs Daria Kasatkina
Court 7: Cici Bellis vs Oceane Dodin
Court 9: Vera Zvonareva vs Madga Linette
Court 10: (14) Elise Mertens vs Rebecca Peterson
Court 15: Alison van Uytvanck vs Arantxa Rus
12:15 PM
Grandstand: (10) Marketa Vondrousova vs Laura Siegemund
Court 7: Jennifer Brady vs Jessica Pegula
Court 9: Christina McHale vs Iga Swiatek
Court 15: Kirsten Flipkens vs Katerina Siniakova
1:30 PM
Court 7: Marie Bouskova vs Anna Kalinskaya
Court 9: Yulia Putintseva vs Zhang Shuai
Court 15: Ons Jabeur vs Leylah Fernandez
2:45 PM
Court 7: Danielle Collins vs Jill Teichmann
3:00 PM
Court 17: Sloane Stephens vs Caroline Garcia