Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) advanced to the second round of the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open after comeback against the Chinese qualifier Wang Yafan by 2-1 ( :7, 6:3, 6:2) in the opener.
Elina Svitolina led by 4:1 in the first set before the match was stopped due to health problems with a spectator in the stands. After the game resumed, Wang Yafan won three games in a row, broke the serve of the Ukrainian player in the 11th and closed the first set at 7:5.
Elina Svitolina quickly regained her rhythm and dominated the Chinese in the next two sets. She recorded nine aces and converted six of her eight break opportunities to help her close out the match after 6:3, 6:2 and after 2 hours and 11 minutes on court.
Elina Svitolina’s next opponent will be the winner between Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) and “lucky loser” Lucia Bronzetti (Italy). The Italian reached the main draw after Amanda Anisimova (USA) withdrew from the tournament due to exhaustion.
Varvara Gracheva (France) will be the opponent of the leader in the world rankings, Iga Swiatek, in the second round, after the Frenchwoman prevailed over Ajla Tomljanovic (Australia) by 2-1 (6:3, 2:6, 7:6). Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) also advances in the tournament after a 2-1 (6:4, 2:6, 6:4) win against Elise Mertens (Belgium). The Ukrainian will face Lulu Sun (New Zealand), who defeated Linda Noskova (Czech republic) by 2-0 (6:4, 7:6).
Just a day after her victory over Naomi Osaka (Japan) in the qualifiers of the tournament in Cincinnati, Ashlyn Krueger (USA) also eliminated Paris 2024 silver medalist Donna Vekic after 2-1 (5:7, 7:6, 6:2).
Earlier in the day, Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) defeated Viktoriya Tomova (Bulgaria).
