Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina advanced to the third round of the Slovenia Open after a convincing 6-4 6-1 victory against Tereza Martincova on Wednesday.
Rybakina, who in July became Kazakhstan’s first ever Grand Slam champion, was too strong for her Czech opponent, creating 14 break point opportunities in the match while only facing two herself.
Her first serve accuracy was not great at 52 per cent, but she was devastating when she landed it fair, converting 21-of-24 chances.
Rybakina will face Lesia Tsurenko in the next round after the Ukrainian upset fifth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5 7-6.
Second seed Beatriz Haddad Maia also had no issue navigating the challenge of Cristina Bucsa 6-1 6-4 and she will meet Ana Bogdan in the third round after the Romanian defeated Tamara Zidansek 6-1 6-7 6-1.
Meanwhile, in India at the Chennai Open, popular Canadian Eugenie Bouchard collected consecutive wins for the first time March 2021 following a lengthy recovery from shoulder surgery.
- South African tennis legend Kevin Anderson retires.
- World No. 1 tennis player Barty in shock retirement.
The 28-year-old defeated Karman Kaur Thandi 6-2 7-6 as she looks to climb back up the rankings, currently sitting 902nd in the world after peaking at No5 back in 2014.
Earlier in the day, sixth seed Qiang Wang was upset by Japanese qualifier Nao Hibino 6-2 6-3, while fifth seed Rebecca Peterson was also eliminated, going down 6-4 6-2 to Linda Fruhvirtova.
Wrapping up the day’s action, Canada’s Rebecca Marino booked a potential showdown with third seed Magda Linette after beating Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa 7-5 6-3.
SOURCE: livescore.com
