Barty battles to US Open first round win | Daily News

Barty battles to US Open first round win

World number one Ashleigh Barty recovered from a second-set stutter to beat Russian Vera Zvonareva for a place in the US Open second round on Tuesday.

The Wimbledon champion was on track for a speedy victory but was made to work for her 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) win later on.

Zvonareva - a 2010 US Open finalist - claimed a late break and forced a second-set tie-break but was ultimately outclassed by the Australian.

Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova also advanced, while 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu took nearly three hours to knock out Viktorija Golubic 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.

Olympic champion Belinda Bencic made it to the second round too as the Swiss 11th seed saw off Dutch opponent Arantxa Rus 6-4, 6-4. Pliskova powered past American Caty McNally 6-3, 6-4 as she looks to improve on her Wimbledon final defeat by Barty with a first Grand Slam title. Pliskova’s compatriot Petra Kvitova recorded one of the most dominant victories of the day as the 10th seed beat Slovenia’s Polona Hercog 6-1, 6-2 in 61 minutes.

Polish seventh seed and 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek also reached the second round as the 20-year-old beat American Jamie Loeb 6-3, 6-4. Pliskova, whose only other major final appearance came at the 2016 US Open, will face American Amanda Anisimova next, while Barty plays Denmark’s Clara Tauson and Bencic is against Italy’s Martina Trevisan. (BBC)


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