St. Petersburg PHOTOS: Kasatkina progresses, Mladenovic upset in the first round

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Tuesday at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy was all about first-round matches and our photographer Jimmie48 worked long hours to give us a closer look at what happened on the court, as well as behind the scenes. Five Russian players were in action, as well as two former champions.

Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia
Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia

In an all-Russian encounter, 19-year-old qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova recorded a topsy-turvy 6-1 6-7(2) 6-1 victory over wildcard Daria Mishina. This was the world No.403 Rakhimova’s second WTA main-draw win, while the 150th-ranked Mishina was making her WTA main-draw debut.

Daria Mishina of Russia
Daria Mishina of Russia

Svetlana Kuznetsova, who enjoys a first-round bye as the fourth seed, spent the day talking to the media and painting.

Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia
Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia

Qualifier Clara Tauson forced eighth seed Daria Kasatkina into a second-set tiebreak despite mid-match injury woes, but the Russian two-time St. Petersburg semifinalist prevailed 6-4 7-6(0).

Clara Tauson of Denmark
Clara Tauson of Denmark

Both Tauson and Kasatkina have clinched WTA titles this season. The 18-year-old Tauson had won her previous 13 matches in a row across Tour and ITF events, which included her maiden WTA title in Lyon. Kasatkina won the Phillip Island Trophy during the Australian swing.

After their first meeting, Kasatkina warned everyone about Tauson: “She’s a dangerous upcoming one!”

Daria Kasatkina of Russia
Daria Kasatkina of Russia

The former world No.10 Kasatkina also had time to paint.

Daria Kasatkina of Russia
Daria Kasatkina of Russia

Katerina Siniakova snapped her six-match main-draw losing streak with a 6-1 6-2 victory over Kirsten Flipkens in 63 minutes.

Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic
Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic

Flipkens was trying to win her first main-draw match in St. Petersburg on her fourth attempt.

Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium
Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium

Seventh seed Kristina Mladenovic was upset by wildcard Margarita Gasparyan 6-7(1) 6-1 6-1 in the night session. The world No.126 Gasparyan avenged her loss to Mladenovic that happened two weeks ago in Lyon.

Kristina Mladenovic of France
Kristina Mladenovic of France

The 27-year-old Mladenovic has won one singles title in her career and it was in St. Petersburg four years ago, while the following year the Frenchwoman returned to the final. Gasparyan triumphed in the Russian city two years ago, playing doubles with Ekaterina Makarova.

Margarita Gasparyan of Russia
Margarita Gasparyan of Russia

Fifth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ended the day with a straightforward 6-4 6-4 win over lucky loser Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia

Second round will begin on Wednesday. Stay with us for more WTA updates from St. Petersburg.

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