Vinci cruises, Bouchard sent packing
NEW HAVEN: Italy’s Roberta Vinci got off to a dominating start at the WTA Connecticut Open on Wednesday by routing Croatian Ana Konjuh 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals.
The 18-year-old Konjuh is ranked 100th in the world and had to get through three rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw at the New Haven, Connecticut tournament.
At the beginning of the match, Konjuh had two break points on Vinci’s serve, but the Italian second seed held on.
Konjuh double faulted twice in the sixth game, helping Vinci break serve at love in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead. Vinci then seized control of the match.
Vinci next faces Johanna Larsson, a lucky loser in qualifying who defeated wild-card entrant Shelby Rogers 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 for a berth in the quarter-finals.
The most impressive performance of the day was provided by sixth-seeded Petra Kvitova, who took out Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-2 for a berth in the quarter-finals.
Kvitova, a three-time Connecticut Open champion, is actually the third-highest seed in the tournament as three of the top five seeds withdrew.
Kvitova next plays Olympic doubles gold medallist Ekaterina Makarova, a player Kvitova beat in the Olympic singles tournament.
ALL-FRENCH AFFAIR
Top seeded Richard Gasquet defeated French compatriot Stephane Robert in straight sets 6-1, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP Tour’s Winston-Salem Open on Wednesday.
Gasquet saved seven of eight break points and broke the unseeded Robert’s serve five times in the hardcourt tournament in North Carolina.
Gasquet will next face Australia’s John Millman, who came from behind to win 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 against wildcard Bjorn Fratangelo.
Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun advanced to his fourth straight Winston-Salem quarterfinal with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman.
Next up for Lu will be second seed Roberto Bautista Agut, of Spain, who defeated Cyprus’ Marcos Baghdatis 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.