THE opening day of main draw action at the Western and Southern Open saw plenty of matches get underway with a number of hometown hopefuls taking the court and each of the seeds surviving. With a couple of matches still yet to play due to rain delays, majority of the results saw predictable outcomes in the Round of 64.

The top seed of the day in Barbora Krejcikova got her run off to a great start, blitzing past Daria Kasatkina 6-3 6-2 in her first match as a top 10 player. She had little trouble throughout her 72-minute victory over the Russian, firing on serve winning 81.5 per cent of her first serve points, and backed it up with a solid 68.2 per cent second serve effectiveness. Compatriot and fellow seed Petra Kvitova also had little issue, disposing of former champion Madison Keys in just over 90 minutes, 7-5 6-4. Whilst Keys only fired one less ace (8-9), she could not match the left-hander for efficiency, as Kvitova won 76 per cent of her first serve points off a 64 per cent clip.

Of the remaining four American competitors for the day, only three have taken the court thus far with Danielle Collins and Shelby Rogers going head-to-head in an intriguing clash and the latter leading despite Collins’ excellent recent form. 13th seed Jennifer Brady and Alison Riske will also look to head into the second round, with Brady hoping to make it a clean sweep from seeds after 15th seed Elise Mertens earned a first round win over Nadia Podoroska, joining the two Czechs on the winners list. Mertens required n hour and 40 minutess to claim the victory over the Argentinian, also capitalising well off her serve and saving six of seven break points in the process.

A flurry of unseeded matches played out, with Jelena Ostapenko ending a three-match losing streak with a victory over Tamara Zidansek, fighting for the win throughout an intriguing and topsy-turvy clash, which saw Ostapenko race out to a 5-1 lead in the first before Zidansek worked in overdrive to cause a seventh game. Ostapenko was able to get the match back on her terms though, eventually claiming a 7-5 6-1 victory. Elsewhere, Jil Teichmann and Yulia Putintseva both won in under 60 minutes, with the latter requiring just 45 minutes to shake off Zhang Shuai, while Heather Watson and Paula Badosa encountered the only two three-setters of the day. A clash between Maria Sakkari and Angelique Kerber is also yet to begin to finish off the day’s proceedings.

WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN ROUND OF 64 RESULTS:

[9] Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) defeated Daria Kasatkina (RUS) 6-3 6-2
[11] Petra Kvitova (CZE) defeated Madison Keys (USA) 7-5 6-4
[15] Elise Mertens (BEL) vs Nadia Podoroska (ARG) 6-3 6-4
Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) defeated Tamara Zidansek (SLO) 7-5 6-1
Jil Teichmann (SUI) defeated Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 6-2 6-0
Heather Watson (GBR) defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) 6-2 3-6 6-1
Paula Badosa (ESP) defeated Petra Martic (CRO) 4-6 6-4 7-6
Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) defeated Zhang Shuai (CHN) 6-2 6-0

Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) vs [13] Jennifer Brady (USA)
Danielle Collins (USA) vs Shelby Rogers (USA)
Alison Riske (USA) vs Leylah Fernandez (CAN)
Maria Sakkari (GRE) v Angelique Kerber (GER)

Picture credit: WTA/Jimmie48