Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova sent top-seeded Simona Halep crashing out of the WTA Tour’s Connecticut Open in one of two second-round upsets on Tuesday at the final US Open tune-up.
Halep, the reigning champ, had her serve broken six times and Rybarikova saved 10 of 14 break-point opportunities en route to a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory at the Connecticut Tennis Center facility.
Second-seeded Petra Kvitova, last year’s runner-up to Halep, cruised past Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals in a match that lasted just 48 minutes on the hard courts.
Photo: AFP
Unseeded Alison Riske became the first player to reach the quarters by upsetting sixth-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta, 6-1, 7-6 (7/3).
American Riske, who never trailed in the second set tie-breaker, blasted eight aces and was a perfect five for five on break points in the 94-minute match.
“There are a lot of top players here. I’m definitely proud to be the lone American left, and hopefully I can keep it rolling,” she said. “I knew that I had to attack her second serve because she places her first serve so well.”
Photo: AFP
Riske jumped to a 3-1 second-set lead, but Pennetta was able to tie it at 3-3. The players held serve the rest of the way, setting the stage for the tiebreaker.
Riske snapped a four-match losing streak with a straight-sets victory over Casey Dellacqua in her tournament opener. Riske next faces Rybarikova.
In other second-round action on Tuesday, Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova eased past France’s Caroline Garcia in a straight-sets, 7-5, 6-2.
Zahlavova Strycova had two aces, went four-for-five on break points and saved 12 of 13 on her own serve in 1 hour, 4 minutes.
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