An ankle, a match point, and three months of nothing
The ankle went at Wimbledon. On match point. Then came a comeback in Toronto last week that fell flat. Since her Roland-Garros final back in May, Maja Chwalinska had not won a single match.
That ended overnight in Mason, Ohio. The Pole beat Spain’s Cristina Busca 6-2, 6-2 in the second round of the Cincinnati Open, her first win at a WTA 1000 this season.
Paris is worth remembering here. She came through qualifying and went all the way to the final, and that run is why she is seeded 19th this week.
“Overall I’m happy with how the recovery has gone, but it has been a process with ups and downs,” she said. “It was frustrating because I had good momentum. But that’s tennis, that’s sport, and sometimes it’s brutal. You have to accept it and learn from it. I’m healthy now.”
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Eight breaks of serve, and one seed nobody expected to fall
Serving was optional. Eight breaks across two sets. Chwalinska took six of her 11 chances and won 28 of the 46 points played on the Busca serve, a shade under 61%.
Eleven opening matches involved seeded players. Only one other seed went out. Jelena Ostapenko, seeded 26th, lost 6-1, 6-3 to another Pole, Magdalena Frech, after being broken three times in a row in the first set and twice more in the second.
Eala wins nine straight games, then the match ends badly
Alexandra Eala dropped the opening game against Elena-Gabriela Ruse. She then won the next nine. The Romanian retired hurt at 6-1, 3-0.
“Nobody likes finishing a match on a retirement,” the Filipina said. “I wish Gabriela Ruse a speedy recovery.”
The rest of the draw behaved. Jessica Pegula handled Simona Waltert 6-3, 6-2. Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova saw off Katie Boulter 6-3, 6-3. Amanda Anisimova, Diana Shnaider, Sorana Cirstea and Anna Kalinskaya all went through. Emma Navarro needed a comeback after losing the opening set to Anhelina Kalinina, and Maria Sakkari went the distance against Kamilla Rakhimova.
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