Ekaterina Makarova had her way with Karolina Pliskova, dominating the first set and storming back in the second to hand the No. 4 seed a 6-1, 6-3 loss in the first round in Connecticut on Monday.
Pliskova had rebounded from an atrocious first set to play well in the second set and generate more opportunities, but it slipped away from her at 3-4. Makarova built a 0-30 lead there, then earned break point and smashed several forehands until one down the line finally outdid Pliskova.
The Russian, ranked 49th in the world, found some trouble while serving out the match, but slammed two aces from 30-30 to book her place in the second round.
“I’m very happy that I got through,” Makarova said on-court. “Today was a very good match for me. I was a little bit relaxed. It was going good.”
Makarova had a clear edge statistically, putting 71 percent of first serves in play compared to fewer than half for Pliskova. The No. 4 seed won a putrid 32 percent of second serve points and saved only one of five break points; Makarova staved off all three break chances she faced.
The 30-year-old, who won the Cincinnati doubles title with Lucie Hradecka last week, hit 22 winners, while Pliskova was underwater with 14 winners and 21 unforced errors.
She was especially dominant in the first set, winning the final six games. Pliskova handed her an insurance break and the set — first with a forehand return the Czech didn’t bother returning, then a double fault on set point — and lost the last 10 points on her serve. Makarova won 18 of the last 20 points in the set.
She will next meet Magdalena Rybarikova, who advanced after CoCo Vandeweghe retired midway through the third set on Sunday.
Also Monday, Johanna Konta saw off Laura Siegemund with a 6-2, 7-5 win. The Briton won the first three games, faced just two break points and hit six aces. She lost an early break in the second set and failed to convert three break chances at 4-4, but capitalized at 5-5 when Siegemund paired a double fault with a bad forehand from deuce.
Konta then fended off a break point before securing the win, setting up a second round match with Carla Suárez Navarro, who beat No. 8 seed Barbora Strycova on Sunday.
