CLEVELAND: Top seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia & second seed Annette Kontaveit of Estonia won their Tennis in the Land first round matches on Monday.
Kasatkina defeated Slovenia's Kaja Juvan 6-3, 6-3 in the opening match of the day, while Kontavit registered a 1-6, 6-0, 6-0 win over Lauren Davies in the evening session on Stadium Court . Jacobs Pavilion.
No. 26 Kasatkina, who received a wild-card entry into the tournament, finished No. 109 Juvan despite not getting an ace in the 1 hour, 27 minute contest. She will face number 33 Katherine McNeely in the 16th round.
28 Kontaveit overcame a poor start & a wave of support behind Northeast Ohio native Davis in the first WTA Tournament held in Cleveland. He broke a five-match losing streak that began in the final at the Viking International Eastbourne.
"I started slow & Lauren was playing really well in the first set, really aggressive," Kontaveit said. "I was expecting the crowd to follow him, but I was really grateful that we got to play in front of the guys. They bring so much energy to the court."
After breaking his serve three times in the first, Kontaveit restricted 97th-ranked Davis to nine points in second & 14 in third. Davis had won the opening set this year to register a 9-0 win.
"It's incredibly disappointing, but it was a great experience nonetheless," Davis said. "I have my heart in Cleveland."
In the second round, Kontaveit will face French number 61 Caroline Garcia. Moving up, the youngest player in the top 400 was 16-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic, who beat Great Britain's Tara Moore 6-4, 7-5.
Switzerland's Jill Teichmann, who was runner-up at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati two days earlier, withdrew from the event.
Top-seeded Japan's Shuko Aoyama & Anna Shibahara beat Anastasia Rodionova & Galina Voskoboeva 6-4, 6-3 in their first match in a 16-team doubles draw.