LONDON – Heather Watson won her opening match 6-4, 6-2 over Katie Volynets as English players went a perfect 3-for-3 in the opening round of the Rothesay Open in Nottingham, England.
Watson, ranked No. 102 in the world, outlasted her American opponent by winning seven break points in 14 opportunities.
Countrywoman Harriet Dart was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Croatian Donna Vekic, the 2017 champion at Nottingham. And Jodie Burrage of Great Britain won 35 of 44 first-service points to defeat Lin Zhu of China 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Tereza Martincova of the Czech Republic also won, beating France’s Oceane Dodin 7-6 (1), 7-5, Reuters reported.
Elsewhere, Anna Kalinskaya of Russia defeated Dutch foe Suzan Lemens 7-6 (5), 6-3 to kick off the WTA 250 grass-court event at `s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
Kalinskaya saved seven of nine break points and won 70 per cent of her second-service points (16 of 23).
Seventh seed Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia and Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska were knotted 2-2 in the first set when inclement weather suspended the remainder of the day’s schedule.
The top seed in the women’s singles draw, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, was supposed to play Kateryan Baindl of Ukraine before the suspension.
Meanwhile, Newly minted World No.2 Anett Kontaveit will head into the second half of her 2022 season without Dmitry Tursunov as her coach. The former ATP world No.20 announced on social media that his and Kontaveit’s working relationship is over after less than a year.
Kontaveit and Tursunov started working together ahead of last year’s US Open, and their partnership yielded immediate success.
The Estonian surged from No.30 to inside the Top 10 in the last quarter of 2021, a run in which she won four titles in her last nine events and qualify for the WTA Finals in Guadalajara, Mexico — where she eventually reached the final. By cracking the Top 10, she became the highest-ranked Estonian in WTA history.
In announcing the split, Tursunov wrote: “[I] feel proud of the work I put in and a bit sad but sometimes good things must come to an end.”
Despite a first-round loss at Roland Garros, Kontaveit rises to a new career high of No.2 in this week’s rankings. So far this year, the 26-year-old won her sixth career title, at the St. Petersburg Ladies’ Trophy in February, and was runner-up to Iga Swiatek at the Total Open in Doha.
“I would like to thank Anett for the opportunity, congratulate her on a career high ranking, and wish her the best of luck onward,” Tursunov added.
Before coaching Kontaveit, Tursunov had similarly successful stints with Elena Vesnina and Aryna Sabalenka, helping the latter becomes in the top 10.
At the same time, Two weeks in Paris have come and gone. With her second title at Roland Garros, Iga Swiatek has nearly twice as many points as second-ranked Anett Kontaveit, while a familiar name is back atop the doubles standings.
Swiatek won her sixth consecutive title this season, her latest coming Saturday at Roland Garros. Her 8,631 points are 4,305 more than anyone else. This is her 10th consecutive week at No.1 following the retirement of Ashleigh Barty on April 4.
Moving up to No.2 for the first time in her career is Kontaveit. Although she fell in the first round of the French Open, Kontaveit, 26, appeared in back-to-back finals earlier this year, in St. Petersburg, where she won her sixth career title, and Doha, where she finished as runner-up.
Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur (who is at a career-high of No.4) and Maria Sakkari round out the current Top 5.
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