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CLEVELAND (AP) – Seeded Daria Kasatkina of Russia and second seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia won their first round matches at Tennis in the Land on Monday.
Kasatkina defeated Kaja Juvan of Slovenia 6-3, 6-3 in today’s opener, while Kontaveit rallied for a 1-6, 6-0, 6-0 win over Lauren Davis in the evening session on the stadium field at Pavillon Jacobs.
No.26 Kasatkina, who received a wild card for the tournament, knocked out No.109 Juvan despite not getting an ace in the hour and 27 minute game. She will face 33rd Catherine McNally in the round of 16.
No.28 Kontaveit overcame a poor start and a surge of support behind Northeast Ohio native Davis in the inaugural WTA tournament held in Cleveland. She ended a five-game losing streak that started in the final at Viking International Eastbourne.
“I started slowly and Lauren was playing really well in the first set, being really aggressive,” said Kontaveit. “I expected the crowd to be behind her, but I was really thankful that we got to play in front of people. They bring so much energy to the court.
After his serve was broken three times in the first, Kontaveit limited Davis, 97th in the table, to nine points in the second and 14 points in the third. Davis was 9-0 when he won the first set this year.
“It’s incredibly disappointing, but it was still a cool experience,” Davis said. “Cleveland has my heart.”
Kontaveit will face 61st Caroline Garcia of France in the second round. Youngest top 400 player Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic, 16, also advanced Britain’s Tara Moore 6-4, 7-5.
Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann, who was the Western and Southern Open finalist in Cincinnati two days earlier, has withdrawn from the event.
Seeders Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan beat Anastasia Rodionova and Galina Voskoboeva 6-4, 6-3 in their first 16-team doubles match.
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