The first day of the Rogers Cup has seen a duo of seeded players crash out in the first round of the tournament.
13th seed Kristina Mladenovic was blown away in straight sets by Czech world No.26 Barbora Strycova. The Frenchwoman was far from her best, producing a total of 27 errors and winning just 16% of her second service points to go out 6-2, 6-3. In contrast Strycova produced a more balanced winner-error ratio of 16-14. It is the third consecutive year that Mladenovic has gone out in the first round of the Rogers Cup.
“I started very well, I felt good on the court. I was playing a lot of balls on the court and being patient.” Said Strycova. “I think that was the key in this match today. In the second set, she started to play a bit better, but I’m happy I got through.”
Strycova will play Daria Gavrilova in the second round, who defeated Lara Arruabarrena in straight sets.
French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko was another high profile casualty after failing to keep hold of her lead in the match. The Latvian was in control of proceedings against Varvara Lepchenko, leading 6-1, 3-0. Then the Uzbekistan-born American qualifier battled back to win 1-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(5).
“I think I woke up. I was a little bit in a sleepy mood for a set-and-a-half.” Lepchenko commented about her start to the match. “Then I decided to start playing tennis. All the credit to her (Ostapenko), she played amazing tennis and she hardly missed a ball from the very beginning.”
Dominika Cibulkova enjoyed better fortune during her 7-6(3), 6-4, win over Lesia Tsurenko. The roller coaster clash saw the 28-year-old get broken four times throughout the match, three of which occurred in the opening set. Nevertheless, she managed to hold her nerve to progress to the last 32 of the competition.
“It was a really high level of tennis for the first round.” Said Cibulkova. “I was expecting such a tough match because Lesia is a tough opponent to play. She’s really solid and she’s running around the court pretty well.”
Other winners on the first day include Anastasija Sevastova, who tamed Lauren Davis 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Injury setback for Keys and Watson
Madison Keys has withdrawn from Toronto due to a left forearm injury. The American recently won her first title of the year at the Bank of West Classic in Stanford. Replacing her in the draw will be Wimbledon semifinalist Magdaléna Rybáriková.
Heather Watson retired in her match whilst trailing 1-6, 1-4, to Naomi Osaka. The Brit, who came through two rounds of qualifying over the weekend, called it quits after receiving treatment on her shoulder.
