Agnieszka Radwanska breezed into the second round of the Connecticut Open with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over American CoCo Vandeweghe on Monday at Connecticut Tennis Center.
The Krakow, Poland native needed only 65 minutes to set up a second-round meeting with France’s Aliza Cornet, who advanced with a three-set win against Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.
“I just started very well,” said Radwanska, who wore a Lotto Women’s Lux Diamond Dress that resembled a disco ball and sparkled under the Stadium Court lights at night. “Everything was really working for me and I was really focusing on each ball.”
Photo: AFP
Among the other top players to advance were 20-year-old American Madison Keys and sixth-ranked Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic. Eighth-ranked Karolina Pliskova, also from the Czech Republic, survived a scare from Slovakia’s Polona Hercog before advancing with a 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 victory.
Vandeweghe, who is winless in three career matches in the tournament, won the first two games of the second set. Radwanska, who debuted her fancy dress at the French Open, then closed with a flourish.
Keys, who is the top-ranked US player behind Serena Williams at 19th, started off sloppy and dropped her first four games against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
After fighting back to win the set 7-6 (7/4), Keys went in front 4-2 in the second set before Svitolina retired with a lower back injury.
Next up for Keys is fourth-ranked Petra Kvitova, who is the top remaining seed at No. 2 after American Simona Halep withdrew on Sunday due to injury.
Keys already beat Kvitova once this season, prevailing in straight sets in the round of 32 at the Australian Open.
Safarova had a little easier time beating Russian Daria Gavrilova 6-3, 6-4 in the final afternoon match.
Also on Monday, Canadian Eugenie Bouchard lost to Italy’s Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-0.
France’s Kristina Mladenovic knocked off eighth-seeded Sara Errani of Italy, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova, Ukraine’s Olga Savchuk and France’s Caroline Garcia also advanced to the second round.
In women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Chin-wei and Croatia’s Darija Jurak were defeated by Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4).
Additional reporting by staff writer
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