The first matches of the second round had been played today at Aegon Open Nottingham. Three of the five remaining seeds were set to play today. Karolina Pliskova and Monica Puig both won their matches in straight sets, while Annet Kontaveit performed a comeback to upset Caroline Wozniacki in three sets. Alison Riske also advanced to quarterfinals.
Puig And Pliskova Easily Secure A Spot Into Quarterfinals
The first one to play on Centre Court had been fourth-seed Monica Puig. The Puerto-Rican edged qualifier Michelle Larcher de Brito in straight sets to reach quarterfinals. An early break in the very first game of the match granted Puig an early advantage, which she consolidated to claim the first set without any more breaks. From the start of the second set, she gained complete control of the match, as she stormed ahead to win every game without giving any chances for a comeback. Puig eventually claimed the match with a 6-4, 6-0 scoreline, after an hour of play. The 22-year old could count on a good performance on her first serve, with five aces hit and 25 out of 30 points won.
First seed and wild card Karolina Pliskova also faced no trouble, as she disposed of Anna Tatishvili in less than an hour. She took control of the match from the beginning, rushing ahead to take the first set with a 6-1 scoreline, without giving the American any chance to break back. The second set showed more action; despite falling to an early disadvantage, Tatishvili got three chances to break back and managed to save three break points right after; eventually, she had to surrender at the Czech’s second match point, which closed the match with a 6-1, 6-3 scoreline. Pliskova showed an outstanding performance on serve, hitting a total of 16 aces overall and no double-faults. She only struggled on break points, gaining a total of 11, but managing to convert only 4. It had been more than enough, however, to allow her to reach her fifth quarterfinal of the year.
Wozniacki Falls To Kontaveit, Riske Advances
The most battled match of the day starred third seed Caroline Wozniacki against Estonia’s Annet Kontaveit. The match started off balanced. Wozniacki gained an early lead, but lost it right away, dragging the set into a tie-break. It’s the Danish that eventually claimed it, on her first set point.
In the second set Wozniacki got two early chances to take the lead, but it’s Kontaveit the first to break her serve, in the sixth game. Wozniacki immediately broke her back but failed to hold in the following game, giving her opponent the chance to serve out the set. The Estonian didn’t falter, claimed the second set and forced the match into a decider.
Down 1-4 in the third set, Wozniacki managed to comeback and level to a 4-4 scoreline, but eventually, she was broken to love while serving to remain in the set. Again, Kontaveit didn’t vacillate in her final service game and won the match with a final 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 scoreline. The Estonian showed a varying performance on serve, hitting eleven aces and seven double-faults, but she showed more consistency on her opponent’s service games. She gained half the break points than her opponent (7 to Wozniacki’s 12), but successfully converted 6 of them, while the Danish succeeded only in 4.
On Court 2, Alison Riske also secured her place into the quarterfinals after a straight set win against Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei. The American needed eight match points over a span of three games to finally claim the match, which ended with a 6-2, 6-4 scoreline. Riske and Kontaveit will face each other in the quarterfinals; their only previous meeting happened this year in Shenzhen, where eventual finalist Riske prevailed in three sets.
The first round doubles draw had also been completed during the day. All the seeded pairs advanced to the quarterfinals.
Tomorrow’s Schedule
The quarterfinal draw will be completed tomorrow. Johanna Konta will start-off the noon session against Zheng Saisai; following, lucky losers Andrea Hlavackova and Tamira Paszek will meet respectively Ashleigh Barty and Magdalena Rybarikova. Christina McHale will take on Tara Moore in the last match on Centre Court. Court 1 will hold the doubles quarterfinals.
