Russia’s Anna Blinkova in action during her second round match against Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia at Khalifa International Tennis Complex, yesterday.
DOHA: Former champion Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain and 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday moved into second round of the Qatar Total Open with easy wins on day two of the tournament.
Suarez Navarro hardly broke a sweat as she beat Tunisian wildcard Ons Jabeur in straight sets. Suarez Navarro, who won the Qatar Open in 2016, yesterday posted a 6-3, 6-1 victory over her young opponent.
Also yesterday, Ostapenko sealed a fighting win over Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania. Ostapenko, 21, won the match 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 in 1 hour 45 minutes. Ostapenko fired three aces in her opening win.
In a battle involving lucky losers, Alison Riske of the US beat Polona Hercog of Slovenia to reach the round of 16. Riske won 6-4, 6-3 in 91 minutes.
Russia’s Anna Blinkova, who beat Samantha Stosur in her final qualifying match on Monday, yesterday beat Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia, winning her first round match 7-6, 6-4 in 1 hour 43 minutes.
The first set went into a tiebreaker, which was smartly captured by Blinkova.
There was not much to write home about for lucky loser Stosur who went down to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Muchova won 6-4, 6-2.
After a three-set thriller, Ostapenko said she was pleased with her performance.
“I tried to play my best and fought for every point. I was trying to get used to the conditions,” Ostapenko said.
“I went for winners when I could. I also tried to keep the play in when I had to. It was a very tough match. There are tough players here. My rival is a great player,” she added.
“I am trying to get back into form because I was injured at the end of last season.
“The pressure was there. It is always there. As I said everybody is tough here. I was trying not to expect too much pressure on my. I just want to win more and more and that brings pressure. Anyways I have great memories from playing here,” she added.
Belgium’s Elise Mertens also advanced with a solid display yesterday, beating Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-2. In another first-round battle, Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei prevailed over Aliaksandra Sasnovichof Belarus. Hsieh won 6-2, 6-0.
Also to advance was fifth seed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands. Bertens beat Italy’s Camila Giorgi 0-6, 7-6, 6-4.
In yesterday’s last match, Germany’s Julia Gorges eased past Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia 6-2, 6-2 to advance into the second round.
