Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto caused a major upset by defeating reigning champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham, England, on Monday. Cocciaretto showcased resilience by saving eight of nine break points against the top-seeded Ostapenko. Her next opponent will be Sloane Stephens, who triumphed over China’s Yuan Yue with a 6-3, 6-3 victory.
In other matches, China’s Zhu Lin upset third-seeded Sorana Cirstea of Romania 7-6 (2), 6-2. Sixth-seeded Canadian Leylah Fernandez dominated Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo, winning 6-1, 6-1. Seventh-seeded Anastasia Potapova secured a 6-4, 6-4 win against fellow Russian Elina Avanesyan. Additional first-round victories were claimed by Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic, and Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti.
Ecotrans Ladies Open
Fifth-seeded Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic secured a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Spain’s Rebeka Masarova in the opening round in Berlin. Vondrousova, the only seeded player competing on Monday, saved four of five break points and won 74.3 percent of her first-serve points.
Russia’s Daria Kasatkina rallied for a 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 win against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk. Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic defeated Emma Navarro 6-4, 6-3. Other Monday winners included Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya and Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez.
