The WTA’s newest International tournament is officially underway with Monday’s start of main-draw play at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne. Germany’s Mona Barthel will go down in the history books as the first ever winner at the Swiss tennis venue, being the first to finish her match with a straight-set win over Jana Cepelova.
Barthel is joined in round two by Kristyna Pliskova, who beat fourth seed Roberta Vinci in straight sets, and Belgium’s Elise Mertens, who managed to defeat eighth seed Monica Niculescu. Afterwards, it was time for the first Swiss main-draw player to start her Ladies Open campaign, but unfortunately Rebeka Masarova did not turn her home crowd advantage into a win. Coming out guns blazing against Germany’s Annika Beck, Masarova was unable to turn an early lead into a successful match, losing two tightly contested sets.
The final match of the day was bound to have a Swiss winner, as no less than three Swiss players faced off in the day’s final doubles match. The all-Swiss doubles team of Belinda Bencic and Amra Sadikovic was no match for Viktorija Golubic and Czech Kristyna Pliskova, who ended her day with two wins.
Fan favorite Belinda Bencic will be back tomorrow, playing the headlining night match against Germany’s Carina Witthöft. Beforehand, fans will be treated to a packed order of play, featuring top seed Barbora Strycova, Julia Görges, Sorana Cirstea and more, as both courts will be buzzing with activity tomorrow.
For all that and more from Biel, keep checking back at Women’s Tennis Blog.
PHOTOS FROM PREVIOUS DAYS AT THE LADIES OPEN BIEL BIENNE:
Great photos as usual! Can’t wait to see other WTA stars in action like Sori and Bara!