Top-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece rallied for a 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-3 victory over Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl in the first round of the Parma Ladies Open on Monday.
Sakkari offset seven aces with eight double faults but managed to save six of nine break points in the two-hour, 45-minute match on the red clay in Parma, Italy.
No. 4 seed Sloane Stephens also came from behind for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win against Poland’s Magdalena Frech. No. 6 Ana Bogdan of Romania breezed to a 6-1, 6-2 over Brazil’s Laura Pigossi. Lauren Davis was a 7-5, 7-5 winner against Italy’s Sara Errani and Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova defeated Hungary’s Reka-Luca Jani 6-2, 6-4.
Tallinn Open
No. 2 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland opened play in Tallinn, Estonia, with a decisive 6-0, 6-2 win against Elena Malygina of Estonia.
Swiss compatriot Viktorija Golubic knocked out No. 4 seed Madison Keys 6-3, 6-2. No. 7 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic was the only other seeded player in action, advancing with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) win over Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.
Other winners on the opening day of the hard court event included Great Britain’s Katie Boulter, Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, and the Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova.
–Field Level Media
