It was a busy day of action on day two of the Aegon Open in Nottingham, with the schedule packed full of matches from both the WTA and ATP Challenger Tours. Here is a complete roundup of all the results from both the men’s and women’s competitions at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.
WTA Roundup
Johanna Konta sealed her 300th singles career match win and booked her place in the next round at the Aegon Open in Nottingham following the unfortunate retirement of her opponent Tara Moore due to a left foot injury.
The top seed was leading 6-2, 3-0 before the incident occurred and despite continuing and finishing that game Moore called time on the match. Konta was in control throughout and was not required to play at her best level, with her compatriot struggling on serve, hitting 10 double faults and only managing to make 50% of her first serves in.
Breaks in the third and the seventh game of the first set and two breaks in the second left the world number eight in prime position to secure victory before Moore was forced to retire.
Last year’s runner-up Alison Riske got her campaign off to a strong start at the Aegon Open in Nottingham, defeating British hope Heather Watson 6-2, 6-3. The world number 43 broke the Brit in the first games of both the first and second sets to take command from the outset. Watson was involved in plenty of the American’s service games and came close to earning break points but could not take care of her own serve to stay with Riske. The wildcard broke back midway through the second set but did not win a game after that as the fourth seed wrapped up victory.
The big upset of the day saw the second seed Anastaija Sevastova fall to Christina Mchale in a thrilling contest out on Court 2, 6-0, 5-7, 7-6(2). The American raced through the first set 6-0 before both players traded breaks in the second. Sevastova forced a deciding set after pinching the second 7-5 and after no breaks in the final set it all came down to a tiebreak which Mchale won comfortably by seven points to two.
Third seed Lauren Davis also crashed at the hands of world number 91 Kurumi Nara 6-3, 6-3 and Shelby Rogers became the third seeded casualty of the day after she was beaten by Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-3. Both players exchanged breaks during the first set before the Croatian pulled away and she just needed the one break in the second set to claim victory in one hour and four minutes.
Former French Open finalist Lucie Safarova came through a tough test against American qualifier Grace Min in three sets 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2 in the final match of the day on Centre Court. The fifth seed looked as though she may have taken the match in straight sets after fighting from a break down in the second, but despite going close to breaking serve in the 12th game she was edged out in the tiebreak. The Czech regrouped and came through the final set routinely enough to book her place in the second round.
In the first match of the day on Court 4 Magdalena Rybarikova raced to victory over her Ukrainian opponent Dayana Yastremska in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour. The Slovakian won 82% of points behind her first serve and hit seven aces as she cruised to victory over the qualifier.
Finally, Ashleigh Barty came from a set down to defeat Tatjana Maria 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 as well as another unseeded player Maria Sakkari, who also needed three sets to see off Jana Cepelova 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-6(6) in a lengthy match lasting two hours and 41 minutes on Court 2.
ATP Roundup
Lloyd Glasspool kicked the day off in fine style in front of the home fans as the Brit secured a huge win over fifth seed Go Soeda of Japan. The wildcard, ranked at 487 caused the upset of world number 108 winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 in just 1 hour and 18 minutes.
The Brit had plenty of chances to break his opponent, 12 chances in all and he capitalised twice in each set while only facing the one break point on serve himself. Nine aces and a 72% win rate behind his first serve was enough for to seal a notable victory on home soil out on Court 1.
There was more good news for the British fans as wildcard Brydan Klein advanced to the second round after defeating Alex de Minaur 7-6(5), 6-3.
Their compatriot Cameron Norrie did not fare so well. The wildcard battled back from 3-1 down in the first set to get back on serve but was broken again at a crucial time in the eleventh game, allowing Kenny De Schepper to serve it out 7-5. The Brit was backed by very vocal support on Centre Court and that helped him inspire to comeback and take the second set 7-5. Unfortunately for Norrie he was unable to claim the victory as the Frenchman closed out the final set 6-4 to seal victory in what was a terrific contest in two hours and eight minutes.
Second seed and the highest ranked player in the field following Dan Evans withdrawal, Marius Copil, began his campaign strongly with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Konstantin Kravchuck. Third seed Dudi Sela also got his charge off to the perfect start, racing through his match in under an hour as he saw off American Denis Kudla 6-2, 6-2. Similar to Glasspool’s match, two breaks of serve in each set once again were enough to secure a routine victory.
Along with Soeda, two other seeds exited the tournament on Tuesday. Sixth seed Darian King was beaten in a final set tiebreak by American Bjorn Fratangelo. The 23-year-old battled back from a set down to win 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(1).
John Millman, Sergiy Stakhovsky and Reilly Opelka were also all victorious on day two. There were also first round wins for qualifiers Sam Groth, John-Patrick Smith and Ricardas Berankis.
