ABU DHABI: Danielle Collins ended her match by winning nine straight games to down Japan’s Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-0 in the first round of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Tuesday in the United Arab Emirates.
It was a rematch of a 2022 US Open meeting between Collins, who is retiring at season’s end, and Osaka, who was given a wild card into Abu Dhabi as she returns from the birth of her child. Collins saved all six break points she faced and won 30 of her 35 first-service points (85.7 per cent), while Osaka had a 7-5 edge in aces.
No. 8 seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia needed just 51 minutes to oust Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko 6-0, 6-1, but Great Britian’s Heather Watson upset ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 7-5.
Other winners Tuesday included Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina, Poland’s Magda Linette and Spaniards Cristina Bucsa and Sara Sorribes Tormo.
German No. 2 seed Tatjana Maria got past China’s Zhuoxuan Bai 7-5, 6-3 in opening-round action in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
No. 6 seed Elina Avanesyan of Russia also advanced in straight sets, beating Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch 6-4, 7-6 (3). Avanesyan won nearly 60 per cent of her first-return points (23 of 39).
The only match to go the distance saw France’s Alize Cornet hold off Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Also advancing were Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, Jaqueline Cristian of Romania, Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia, Erika Andreeva of Russia and Harriet Dart of Great Britain.
