Second round play got underway at the Ricoh Open on Wednesday, with drama and epics galore. Very little seemed to go according to plan on day three in s-Hertogenbosch, so let’s take a look back at what happened on Wednesday in the Netherlands.
Results
Third seed Kristina Mladenovic went into her second round match as the heavy favourite against Russian teenager Natalia Vikhlyantseva, ranked 254th in the world. But it was the young Russian who got off to the quicker start, with Mladenovic having to battle back from a set down to defeat Vikhlyantseva 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. It was the world number 254th who came out swinging, pouring the pressure on the Frenchwoman’s serve. She was rewarded with a break, surrendered the lone break point she faced. In the end, her persistence was rewarded when she broke Mladenovic in the 12th game to seal the opening set.
The Russian teen couldn’t keep her level up, and the world number 32 started to turn the tables in the second set. While Vikhlyantseva managed one break, her own service levels dropped and she surrendered three breaks against her serve to send the match to a decider. The third set was close, but the Russian failed to save either break point against her serve and Mladenovic would hang on for the victory in just over two hours.
Madison Brengle battled through an epic with home-hope Richel Hogenkamp, eventually emerging victorious 7-5, 5-7, 7-5. All three sets were decided by late breaks. After the pair traded breaks in the early stages of the first set, Hogenkamp cracked late under the pressure of Brengle’s return and the American took the opening set. The second set got even crazier, with four breaks being exchanged before it became Hogenkamp’s turn to break late and send the match to a decider. The third set was more of the same, with both women breaking twice before Brengle scored the deciding break to reach the quarterfinals.
Coco Vandeweghe advanced to the quarterfinals with a fairly routine win over Nao Hibino. Despite some struggles on serve, The Americans return was dialed in, breaking seven times on 14 opportunities and winning 59 percent of her opponent’s service points in a 6-2, 6-3 victory. In the opening set, Vandeweghe broke in every one of Hibino’s service games. The Japanese did slightly better in the second but was still broken three times as the American wrapped up the victory in just over an hour.
Elise Mertens kept her hot run going with another straight sets victory. After beating Eugenie Bouchard in the first round, the world number 171 kept her run going with a straight sets win over Aleksandra Krunic. The Serbian mounted a major assault on the Belgian’s serve, reaching break point 15 times. But Mertens was up to the task, saving eleven of them and responding with five breaks of her own, claiming a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory.
The second round will be completed on Thursday.