Tuesday at the 2015 Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open was all about the big names as the tournament’s marquee players made their start in the main draw.
For Angelique Kerber & Venus Williams the first round proved to be much more than a routine affair, as both players ended up having to fight through tough three-setters to keep their Hong Kong campaign from being over before it really started.
Venus was facing lucky loser Yuliya Beygelzimer who made her way into the draw after Australia’s Casey Dellacqua had to retire in a last-minute affair due to a concussion. The Ukrainian was determined to make most of her second chance, taking the first set against the former world #1 and hanging on all the way into the closing stages of the third set.
After Venus had dodged her bullet, it was Angelique Kerber’s time to take on Francesca Schiavone and the Italian Roland Garros champion proved to be a tough nut to crack, taking the first set after a thrilling tiebreak and forcing Kerber to dig deep in the decider.
It wasn’t just the top seeds that were struggling though. WTA Rising Star Daria Gavrilova needed three sets and 2:46 hrs of playing time to get past Japan’s Miyu Kato, ranked #207 in the world.
The first half of the tournament’s second round is due on Wednesday, so keep checking back to Women’s Tennis Blog for all the latest action from Hong Kong!
