Nineteen-year-old American Ashlyn Krueger, ranked No. 123 in the world, upset eighth-seeded Kateryna Baindl of Ukraine 6-2, 6-3 in the opening round of the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships on Monday in Osaka.
Krueger won 27 of her 38 first-service points and cleaned up 9 of her 15 second-service points. She won the final four games of the first set and the final three games of the second to pull away in a tidy 82 minutes.
No. 5 seed Nadia Podoroska of Argentina needed three sets to get by China’s Yue Yuan 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. No. 6 seed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Diana Shnaider of Russia, saving six of seven break points along the way.
Russia’s Valeria Savinykh defeated Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Two matches were in the third set when they were suspended until Tuesday. No. 4 seed Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic and Great Britain’s Harriet Dart were tied a set apiece, 7-5, 5-7. Japan’s Mai Hontama led South Korea’s Su Jeong Jang 7-5, 0-6, 5-1.
–Field Level Media
