Google News
Two seeds played their first-round matches at the Guangzhou Open on Tuesday and both made it to the round-of-16 with nary a problem. The two seeds in question were Tatjana Maria, who’s seeded third this week and Lucia Bronzetti, the fourth seed.
The 36-year-old Maria took an hour and 19 minutes to wrap up a 6-3, 6-0 win over Philippines’ qualifier, Alexandra Eala. The German didn’t face any break point throughout the match and converted four of seven break points on her younger rival’s serve.
Maria dropped just eight points off her first serve and won 13 of 28 points played on return on Eala’s first serve. She won 52% of her second-serve points and 55% points on return on her opponent’s second serve.
Local favourite Zhouxuan Bai will be the world no. 48’s next opponent. In her first-round clash against Greek qualifier Despina Papamichail, the 129th-ranked Bai won 6-3, 7-5. The match fell short of two hours by merely three minutes.
Guangzhou Open: Lucia Bronzetti doesn't miss a beat
Bronzetti, meanwhile, took exactly an hour to beat Chinese Taipei’s Ya Yi Yang, 6-1, 6-0. The Italian won 78% of her first-serve points and 60% points on return on the 236th-ranked Yang’s first serve.
The world no. 60 won 64% of her second-serve points and 62% points on return on Yang’s second serve. The lone break point Bronzetti faced, she went on to save it. She also converted five break points on her rival’s serve.
Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima will be Bronzetti’s second-round opponent. Uchijima beat Jessika Ponchet of France, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in their first-round clash. Apart from Bai, two more home players won their first-round matches on Tuesday.
Xiyu Wang and Yue Yuan came through in straight sets. Wang defeated Nadia Podoroska 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 17 minutes. Yuan got past Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 7-6(5). Yulia Putintseva, however, defeated another local hopeful, Xiaodi You 6-4, 6-0 in their round-of-32 match.
The Kazakh needed an hour and 46 minutes to pocket the win. Of the three other first-round matches at the Guangzhou Open, two went the distance. Lucky loser Viktoria Hruncakova beat Anna Kalinskaya 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3. Likewise, Daria Saville came from a set down to defeat Anna-Lena Friedsam 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Viktorija Golubic, meanwhile, made her place in the round-of-16 with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Rebecca Marino.