With all the first round matches completed at the 2016 Jiangxi Women's Tennis Open, Francesca Schiavone from Italy and Vania King from the USA are the only non-Asian players that made it to round two. Zhang Ying and Nicha Lertpitaksinchai continue their run from the qualifying draw; wild card Lu Jiajing also gained her ticket for the second round.
Born in 2014, the tournament had been played during its first two editions as one of the WTA 125K series; starting from this year, it had been promoted to the WTA International level and became officially part of the 2016 WTA Tour.
However, it has already suffered two heavy withdrawals. Former number one and defending champion Jelena Jankovic chose to not defend the title to compete at Brazil Tennis Cup in Florianopolis instead. First seed Magda Linette also withdrew, for being able to compete at 2016 Rio Olympics starting next week.
Schiavone, Zhang and King advance, Liu upsets Vekic
The biggest upset of the day had been signed by China’s Liu Fangzhou, who defeated the fourth seed Donna Vekic with a double 6-2 scoreline. The Chinese player scored her first WTA main draw win of the year. She is defending the quarterfinal from last year, after having made all the way to the final in 2014, as ranked 422, where she eventually lost to first seed Peng Shuai. For Vekic, it had been one more disappointment in a 2016 season that brought her only six main draw wins at the WTA level.
Immediately up with an early break in today’s match, the Croatian then lost three of her next four service games, without ever gain the chance to level-off the set. The second set showed a more balanced beginning, with Liu putting an end to the exchange of holds by breaking Vekic in the sixth game, and holding the following one to 15 to grant herself the chance to serve for the match, from 5-2 up. Chance she didn’t need in the end; in the most battled game of the set, Vekic wasted two important chances to hold, and despite she saved two match points, she couldn’t save the third, falling to Liu 6-2, 6-2 in a little more than an hour of play.
The other top seeds all claimed their ticket to the second round.
French Open champion Francesca Schiavone didn’t find a lot of struggle in getting rid of wild card Yang Zhaoxuan with a 6-0, 6-4 scoreline. The first set started with a very battled game, in which the Italian eventually converted her fourth set point to gain an early lead. The rest of the set had been all in Schiavone’s momentum, who alternated easy holds with quick breaks, closing the set in less than half an hour. The second set had been more balanced, started with an exchange of breaks that had been reprised at the end of the set; a final, important hold delivered the match into the Italian’s hands.
Fifth seed Zhang Kailin needed three sets to defeat Ivana Jorovic, with a final 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback win. Quickly 1-5 down in the first set, Zhang managed to hold and then break her opponent as she was serving for the set; however, she had been broken again right away, losing the set. In the second, she lost her early break in the fourth game, but she broke Jorovic again right after and needed nothing more to secure the set and force the match to a third; a very battled final set, with both players struggling in holding their serves, had been eventually claimed by Zhang, who risked to suffer a comeback by wasting two match points and then losing the game while she was serving for the match.
Second seed Kurumi Nara’s match is the only one that still has to be completed, interrupted by the rain. She is currently 3-2 down to Tereza Mrdeza in the second set, after winning the first one with a 6-3 scoreline.
Vania King, Risa Ozaki, and Xan Xinyun also advance, Kostova out in straight sets
Ninth seed Elitsa Kostova surrendered in two sets to Misa Eguchi, leaving the competition after a quick 6-2, 6-1 loss. The Japanese took an early control of the match and shut up a shy tentative of a comeback from the Bulgarian by winning the last games and claim the set. The second one had been even less battled. Quickly 5-0 up, Eguchi got broken by serving from the set, but immediately won the break back to close the match in an hour and seven minutes.
Sixth seed Vania King and seventh seed Risa Ozaki both advanced with easy straight-set wins. The American, who recently reached the second round in Montréal, starting from qualifications, scored a 6-2, 6-4 win against Australian qualifier Storm Sanders. The Japanese Ozaki came to Nanchang after her quarterfinal run at Citi Open, in which she performed the greatest upset of the tournament by defeating second seed and defending champion Sloane Stephens in the first round. She took on lucky loser Han Na-lae, getting rid of her with a clear 6-3, 6-1.
Eight seed Han Xinyun performed a successful comeback to survive Junri Namigata, last year’s champion in doubles, and advance to second round. After losing the first set to the Japanese qualifier, Han conquered the last three games of a balanced set to level-off to one-set all. She did the same in the third one, claiming the match with a final 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 scoreline.
Last year’s finalist Chang Kai-Chen survived an attempted comeback, defeating wild card Zhang Yuxuan with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 scoreline.
Lu Jiajing defeats Hantuchova, Miyu Kato wins against Radwanska
Former top 5 player Daniela Hantuchova and former top 30 player Urszula Radwanska followed Vekic with an early defeat in the torunament, both suffering a comeback after winning the first set. The Czech fell against Chinese wild card Lu Jiajing with a final 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 scoreline.
Radwanska, who is also struggling this season, having scored only two WTA main draw wins this year, won the first set 6-1 against Miyu Kato, winning very battled games to gain important breaks. She was broken by serving for the match in the second set, and ended up losing it 7-4 in the tie-break; from 0-3 down in the third, Kato won six games in a row to gain the set and the match, scoring her first WTA main draw win in singles since February.
Qualifier Zhang Ying also advanced to second round, with a 6-3, 6-1 win against Wang Yafan. Fellow Chinese Zhu Lin and Duan Ying Ying won their debut matches as well. Zhu defeated qualifier Lu Jingjing in three sets, with a final 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 scoreline; Duan got rid of Marina Melnikova with a double 6-2. Wild card Zheng Wushuang lost 6-1, 6-4 to Jang Su-jeong. The only all-qualifier match had also been an all-Thai match, in wich Nicha Lertpitaksinchai prevailed to Peangtarn Plipuech with a 6-2, 6-4 score.
Tomorrow’s schedule
Tomorrow's play will see the end of the match between Kurumi Nara and Tereza Mredza, second on Centre Court. Before them, Zhang Kailin will open the day against Miyu Kato, and after them Francesca Schiavone will take on Lu Jiajing. On Court 1, Vania King will meet qualifier Zhang Ying, and on Court 2 the other qualifier left, Nicha Lertpitaksinchai, will try to continue her run facing Risa Ozaki.