PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI
Yulia Putintseva puts away an overhead smash at net in Cincinnati. Pete Ziebron Images
Tennis aficionados looked at Monday’s order of play at the Western & Southern Open and immediately identified that Court 10 would be the place to be for dramatic and high energy tennis. It did not disappoint.
First up at 11 AM was Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan taking on former Roland Garros Champion Jelena Ostapenko of Lativa. Putintseva held serve at 15 to open the match and was gifted the second game as Ostapenko hit three double faults in the game, the first of three times that this would happen in the match.
With the Latvian serving at 2-5 to stay in the opening set, she again hit three double faults to be broken at love as Putintseva took the set in just 28 minutes. In the second set, each player broke three times as the last three games of the set were all breaks, including Ostapenko failing to serve out the set. Yet, Ostapenko was able to momentarily steady her game in the tiebreaker and strung together four consecutive points to take a 4-1 lead and then also won the last three points of the breaker to win it 7-3 and level the match at a set apiece.
Jelena Ostapenko disagrees with a call in the final set. Pete Ziebron Images
The momentum was short lived as Putintseva broke at 15 to claim the opening game of the final set. Each player would hold serve until the final game of the match when Ostapenko would hit three more double faults in the game, including the final one on Match Point to lose the set 3-6.
In total, Ostapenko would hit 15 double faults in the match and be broken eight times. Putintseva advances to play American Sloane Stephens in the second round.
Poland's Iga Swiatek wins three matches in three days in Cincinnati. Pete Ziebron Images
The the third and final match on Court 10, qualifier Iga Swiatek of Poland took on veteran Caroline Garcia of France. Swiatek survived a pair of three set matches in the qualifying round, dropping the middle set in each contest.
Swiatek jumped to a 5-2 lead in the opening set however she would fail to hold serve three consecutive times, including serving for the set at 5-2, 5-4 and again at 6-5. As a result, the first set went to a tiebreaker and this is where Swiatek took command of the match, winning the breaker 7-1.
In fact, Swiatek would proceed to roll in the second set, winning it in 34 minutes at 6-1. Including the first set tiebreaker, the Pole would win 37 of the last 52 points of the match to advance to the second round.
Caroline Garcia in action on Court 10 in Cincinnati. Pete Ziebron Images
Swiatek would hit 8 aces in the match and convert 5 of 6 break chances against Garcia. Switek advances to meet the winner of Angelique Kerber and Anett Kontaveit.
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