Istanbul Open: Defending titlist Sorana Cirstea begins title defence bid with 1R win

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Second seed Sorana Cirstea reached the second round of the Istanbul Open on Tuesday. The Romanian, who’s the defending champion this week, beat Kamilla Rakhimova, 6-4, 6-1 in an hour and 16 minutes. Both players struggled to win points off their second-serves, winning around 23% points each.

However, where Rakhimova won 48% of her first-serve points, Cirstea finished with 69%. She also saved three of the seven break points she faced while converting seven break points she had on Rakhimova’s serve. In the second round, Cirstea will play Arantxa Rus.

The Dutchwoman beat Turkish wildcard, Ipek Oz, 6-3, 6-1 in their first-round match. Rus won 74% of her first-serve points to Oz’s 40% and all four points she played on her second serve. In comparison, Oz won only 50% of her second-serve points.

Rus lost her serve only once in the match but also went on to break Oz’s serve five times.

Istanbul Open: Veronika Kudermetova reaches the round-of-16

Third seed Veronika Kudermetova also came through to the second round with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over qualifier, Marina Melnikova.

Kudermetova won 67% of her first-serve points to Melnikova’s near-49% and 64% of her second-serve points to the latter’s 41%. Kudermetova saved both break points she faced while converting five on Melnikova’s serve.

In the second round, Kudermetova will play Ana Bogdan. The Romanian qualifier beat Ana Konjuh 6-4, 6-3 in their opening-round match. Fifth seed Jil Teichmann needed three sets to beat Greet Minnen. The Swiss won 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3 in two hours and 27 minutes against the Belgian.

Teichmann lost her serve five times across the encounter while converting seven break points on Minnen’s serve. In the second round, Teichmann will play Jule Grabher. The Austrian qualifier beat Turkey’s wildcard, Pemra Ozgen, 7-5, 6-2 in the first round.

Spain’s Nuria Parrizas Diaz also reached the second round with a 7-6(6), 7-5 victory over Italian Martina Trevisan. Parrizas Diaz will play Anna Bondar next for a place in the quarter-finals of the Istanbul Open. The Hungarian posted the lone upset of the day over eighth-seeded Tereza Martincova, 6-4, 7-5. Photo Credit: Istanbul Open Twitter