If it is not COVID-19 wreaking havoc on this tennis season, then it is definitely rain. After last month’s UTR PRO Match Series tournament in West Palm Beach got canceled on the final day because of thunderstorms, the other tennis event with professional players organized on the US soil, this week’s Credit One Bank Invitational in Charleston, has been heavily affected by rain the first two days.
Two of the four scheduled singles matches were postponed on Tuesday, as Day 1 finished with a 1-1 tie between Team Kindness and Team Peace. On Wednesday, Ajla Tomljanovic, Amanda Anisimova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands each posted one-point singles wins before rain washed out play, so now Team Peace leads Team Kindness 3-2.
In a non-televised match, Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic cruised past Charleston native Shelby Rogers 6-1 6-2, recording a victory for Team Peace.
Amanda Anisimova trailed Danielle Collins 4-1 when their encounter was suspended on Tuesday night, but the 2019 French Open semifinalist ended the two-day battle in her favor, tying Team Peace and her Team Kindness 2-2 with a 7-5 6-4 win over her fellow American.
#PurpleRain ☮️ #soundON ✌🏼 #Charleston I still love you ☔️ #TeamPeace Let’s keep it rolling 🔥@VolvoCarOpen @CreditOneBank @TennisChannel @tenniswarehouse @ShopLuckyInLove #TennisUNITED @WTA pic.twitter.com/0rR1XxbwPE
— Bethanie MattekSands (@matteksands) June 25, 2020
Afterwards, Team Peace captain Bethanie Mattek-Sands recorded a 6-1 6-3 victory over Monica Puig, who was playing not only her first match since the coronavirus pandemic disturbed the planet but also her first match in 2020. The rusty 2016 Olympic gold medalist was no challenge for her veteran opponent this time, handing plenty of errors and mistimed shots. Just as the clash finished, a downpour started.
Thursday’s matches will be worth two points each, but not those carried over from Wednesday’s schedule (i.e. the first three listed above are worth one point each). Here you can read more about the Credit One Bank International groups and progressively increasing scoring system.
