Number 7 seed Liudmila Samsonova cruised past former Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria 6- 0 6-2 in just 62 minutes to reach the second round at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. Samsonova has extended her lead to 2-0 in her head-to-head matches against Maria.
Samsonova has now all six matches and all 12 sets she has played in Tokyo, where she claimed the fourth title of her career on her debut at this tournament last year.
Samsonova dropped just three points on her serve and broke three times to take a bagel win in the 25-minute first set. Maria won her first game of the match before missing two break point chances. Samsonova broke twice in the third and fifth games and held on her serve to close out the second set 6-2.
This year’s Rome finalist Anhelina Kalinina cruised past Ashlyn Krueger 6-3 6-1. Kalinina ended Krueger’s five match winning streak. Krueger recently won her first WTA title in Osaka.
Kalinina set up a match against Caroline Garcia, who reached the semifinals in Guadalajara.
Cristina Bucsa cruised past Japanese Rina Raigo 6-1 6-2 with three breaks in the first set and two breaks in the second set. Bucsa will take on number 2 seed Jessica Pegula.
Japanese qualifier Mai Hontama beat her compatriot Nao Hibino 6-2 6-4 setting up number 1 seed and four-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek. Elena Rybakina, 2021 Wimbledon champion, withdrew from the tournament due to illness and has been replaced by Japanese lucky loser Himeno Sakatsume.
