Navarro, Kvitova, Cibulkova stunned in second round [The Nation] 22 Sep, 2016
Tokyo-Fourth seed Carla Suarez Navarro, sixth seed Dominika Cibulkova and seventh seed Petra Kvitova faced upset losses in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open WTA Tournament in Tokyo. Olympic gold medallist Puig edged Kvitova whereas former World No.1 Wozniacki defeated Suarez Navarro in a very close match.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova was looking for a revenge against Puerto Rico's Monica Puig, who had beaten Kvitova in semifinals of Rio Olympics, before beating World No.1 Angelique Kerber in the final. Kvitova took the first set easily 6-1 as she did not face any break point and broke her opponent twice.But Puig repeated her heroics of Olympics and won the next two sets 6-4, 6-4 to stun the Czech player once again. She will face the winner of second seed Agnieszka Radwanska and Czech Republic's Barbora Strycova next.Former World No.1 Wozniacki took on the fourth seed Carla Suarez Navarro. Wozniacki led the Spaniard 4-1 in head to head record and had won last three meetings between them, including the one in Tokyo Quarterfinals two years back. This time first set was close and was decided by tie-break, which Wozniacki won 7-4. Suarez Navarro levelled the match by taking the second set 6-4.The third set was also close as both players tried their best to outsmart each other but at the end it was Wozniacki who took the third set 6-4 to go through. She will face the winner of Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva and Poland's Migda Linette next. Japanese wildcard Naomi Osaka made the biggest upset of the day as she stunned sixth seed Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets 6-2, 6-1. She will play third seed Karolina Pliskova or Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich next.Arruabarrena in Korea Open quarter-finals:: Spain's Lara Arruabarrena on Wednesday advanced to the Korea Open quarter-finals after defeating US eighth seed Louisa Chirico in a near three-hour showdown. Arruabarrena, who is the world number 90, scored an upset victory against the 75th-ranked Chirico 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) in 173 minutes in Seoul. Arruabarrena last advanced past the first round at the 2016 Ericsson Open in July, where she secured an upset win against the current number one Angelique Kerber in the round of sixteen.The 24-year-old previously beat Chirico, 20, in the qualifying stages of the 2015 Rogers Cup. Arruabarrena will next meet second seed Johanna Larsson from Sweden, currently the world number 45. Camila Giorgi of Italy also went through to the quarter-finals after beating Germany's Mona Barthel 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.Russian-born French qualifier ousts Spanish sixth seed: French qualifier Alexandre Sidorenko produced the first upset at his 'home' Saint Petersburg Open with a straight sets defeat of sixth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Tuesday. The Saint Petersburg-born 255th in the world won his first ever meeting with the left-handed Spaniard 7-5, 6-2 in one hour 23 minutes.On the hard court of Saint Petersburg's Sibur Arena the 28-year-old took the first set after 51 minutes and clinched the second set after two breaks of serve. "I started nervously but as time went on I gained more and more confidence," Sidorenko said. "The first set win inspired me and in the second I was in command. I'm always happy to play in my native city and this victory matters a lot for me."Sidorenko will now meet Italy's Paolo Lorenzi, who battled back from a set down to beat another qualifier Mischa Zverev of Germany 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-0. Unheralded 26-year-old Serb Dusan Lajovic saw off another Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to secure his second-round spot.Verdasco, a winner in Bucharest in April, broke twice in the opening set to take it in 32 minutes but Lajovic pulled level with a break in the sixth game of the second. Verdasco, 32, broke early in the decider but Lajovic, 73rd in the ATP rankings, rallied to win six consecutive games, the set and the match in one hour 49 minutes. "It was a very tough match for me as I had a lot of problems in the beginning with my backhand return," Lajovic said."In the second set I felt like I was playing better and better. I broke him and got confidence. The third set was open, it was a dogfight until the last point." Freshly-crowned US Open champion Stan Wawrinka enters the fray on Wednesday after a first round bye against Czech Lukas Rosol.TOKYO: Petra Kvitova returns a shot against Monica Puig during their women's singles second round match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis Tournament.–AFP
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