Japan’s Naomi Osaka was eliminated from the Cincinnati Masters Tournament after losing in the first round to China’s Shuai Zhang 4-6, 5-7 in a match that lasted one hour and 15 minutes.
And the Chinese won her third victory over Osaka, equalizing the score in head-to-head matches, with three wins in each.
Zhang will then face Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, who beat No. 13 Canadian Leyla Fernandez 6-4 7-5, who lost the US Open final last year.
Czech Republic Karolina Pliskova, 14th-placed 2016 Cincinnati Champion, also advanced to the second round by defeating Venus Williams 7-5, 6-1 to set up a meeting with Belgian Eliza Mertens, who qualified after defeating Ukraine’s Angelina Kalinina 6-1, 6-. one.
Romania’s Sorana Cristia narrowly beat Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, winning 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 in a match that lasted two hours and 38 minutes.
According to the rest of the results, Czech Marie Bozhkova qualified at the expense of American Coco Gauff, who withdrew due to injury.
Source: El Iktisad