Stephens, Sakkari breeze through as Collins sets up Jabeur clash
Credit One Charleston Open, Credit One Stadium
Sloane Stephens was firing on all cylinders on Tuesday at the Credit One Charleston Open.
The 2016 champion here and former US Open winner dashed into round two with a decisive 6-0 6-2 win over Magdalena Frech of Poland in just 66 minutes, booking a meeting with No.14 seed Leylah Fernandez.
Fernandez leads that head-to-head 3-0, though the two have never met on clay.
MORE: Updated draws | Order of play
No.3 seed Maria Sakkari, playing here for the first time since 2019, made a triumphant return to Credit One Stadium, beating Viktoriya Tomova 6-3 6-3. Sakkari, runner up at Indian Wells, has now won nine of her last 11 matches.
Miami champion Danielle Collins won her eighth consecutive match, making a seamless transition to the green clay with a 6-1 6-4 effort over former world No.2 Paula Badosa. The much-anticipated matchup saw Collins broken just once in a steady showing from the ground.
Her reward? A second-round clash with No.2 seed and defending champion Ons Jabeur.
Earlier, Taylor Townsend struck 10 aces and lost just three points on first serve on her way to a convincing win over 2020 Australian Open champ Sofia Kenin, 6-3 6-3 on the Althea Gibson Club Court. She’ll meet No.6 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova next.
In another all-American clash, Caroline Dolehide bounced back from a disappointing second set to beat Kayla Day, 6-3 0-6 6-4.
Elsewhere, Magda Linette rallied from a bagel set for the first time in her career in a WTA match, coming back to defeat Dayana Yastremska 0-6 6-4 6-3. It’s the first time Linette has won back-to-back matches since October, having won her first round match on Monday.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto launched her own comeback against Ana Bogdan on Court 3, while lucky loser Astra Sharma beat Australian compatriot Arina Rodionova 6-4 6-1 in straights.
In doubles, the No.2 seeds Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk were upset, losing to Eri Hozumi and Makoto Ninomiya of Japan, 5-7 6-4 10-3.
Terrific stuff from Taylor ✔️@TaylorTownsend gets off to a hot start, getting past Kenin 6-3, 6-3 to move into R2 of the #CharlestonOpen! pic.twitter.com/GbUMhv5xO5
— Credit One Charleston Open (@CharlestonOpen) April 2, 2024
