SAN DIEGO — Daria Kasatkina took less than an hour on Tuesday to end Leylah Fernandez's singles experience at the WTA San Diego Open.
The eighth-seeded Russian bounced the Montreal athlete 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the WTA 500 Series event. The singles match at Barnes Tennis Center only took 59 minutes to complete.
Kasatkina was able to win 25 receiving points compared to Fernandez's 13, and the Russian served winners on 78 per cent of her first serves, compared to Fernandez's 50. The spread was even larger on second serves, with Kasatkina holding a 71-42 per cent advantage.
“Dasha is an amazing player. She’s improved so much over the years,” Fernandez said. “I watched her play on TV when I was still a junior. Seeing her now in the top 10 and doing so well this year is truly inspiring.
"I think today she showed how well she can play. She didn’t make too many mistakes. I, unfortunately, did.”
Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., who upset red-hot Russian Liudmila Samsonova 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-2 on Monday, will play Wednesday in the round of 16.
The second-seeded women's doubles combo of Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico were trailing Sabrina Santamaria of Los Angeles and partner Kaitlyn Christian of Orange, Calif., 4-2 in the first set of the round of 16 when play was suspended Tuesday night.
Following a lengthy delay, the match resumed and Dabrowski and Olmos appeared recharged as they rallied to win the set 7-5, and breezed through the second to win 6-1. The winners advance to the quarterfinals.
In earlier action Tuesday, Carol Zhao of Vaughan, Ont., and partner Rebecca Marino of Vancouver were beaten 6-2, 6-4 by Sofia Kenin of Pembroke Pines, Fla., and Samsonova in the round of 16.
Former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens and Karolina Pliskova, a one-time U.S. Open runner-up, won their opening matches on Tuesday.
Stephens, a wild-card entrant from the U.S. who won the 2017 U.S. Open, got her second win in 2022 over lucky loser Jil Teichmann, beating the Swiss left-hander 6-1, 7-6 (2). Pliskova, a former No. 1 from the Czech Republic who was the 2016 U.S. Open runner-up, beat American Caroilne Dolehide 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the second round.
“It’s always a tough match with her. She’s a great player,” said the 52nd-ranked Stephens, who saved a set point in the second set. “I knew she was going to come out and give me a good fight. I just tried to stay calm and play my game. In the end, it went my way.”
Croatia’s Donna Vekic beat fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece for the fifth time in seven meetings, 7-6 (3), 6-1.
“Maria is a really good friend of mine. I wasn’t happy to play her. I think we were both pretty nervous at the beginning, but I managed to calm down a little bit and I think I found my zone in the second set,” said the 77th-ranked Vekic, who now owns nine career wins over Top-10 opponents, including an upset of No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka last summer at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I was really happy when I found out that she took a wild card at the last second and was coming here,” added Vekic. “I texted her straight away. When the draw came out, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, we’re playing each other!’
"It’s not easy. We fight on the court, but we’re still close off the court.”
Vekic, 26, finished with seven aces and converted five of six breakpoint opportunities.
This year's tournament marks the first return of the WTA to San Diego since 2015.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2022.
The Canadian Press
