WTA roundup: Lucky loser upsets 3rd seed in Prague

[May 02, 2018]  Jasmine Paolini, a lucky loser from qualifying, pulled off a big upset Tuesday, knocking off third-seeded Daria Kasatkina of Russia 7-6 (6), 6-3 in the first round of the J&T Banka Prague (Czech Republic) Open.

Paolini, a 22-year-old Italian ranked 144th in the world, posted just her second main-draw win in a top-level WTA Tour event. She reached the second round in Bogota, Colombia, last month.

Kasatkina was slowed by a left thigh injury.

"It's incredible, biggest win of my career," Paolini said. "I had to stay focused in the end as I saw she was injured. I knew I had to keep the level of my play and stay focused."

In other first-round action, second-seeded Petra Kvitova routed Tereza Smitkova 6-1, 6-3 in a showdown of Czech players, but fifth-seeded Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic fell to Italy's Camila Giorgi 6-0, 2-6, 6-2.

Sixth-seeded Zhang Shuai, seventh-seeded Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania and Kristyna Pliskovaall of the Czech Republic advanced in straight sets.

Grand Prix S.A.R. La Princesse Lalla Meryem

Top-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium was flawless in a 6-0, 6-0 win over Slovakia's Kristina Kucova in the first round at Rabat, Morocco.

In the 57-minute match, Mertens saved the only break point she faced, and she converted six of her nine break opportunities. Kucova never won more than two points in a row.

Other first-round winners included fifth-seeded Magdalena Frech of Poland, seventh-seeded Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia and eighth-seeded Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan.

Polona Hercog of Slovenia eliminated second-seeded Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, and Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru upset fourth-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary 2-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5.

--Field Level Media

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