Kasatkina squeezes through Tsurenko tilt in Wuhan

WUHAN, China - No.13 seed Daria Kasatkina avenged two previous losses to Lesia Tsurenko to capture their first-round clash at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open 6-4, 7-5.

The Ukrainian had defeated Kasatkina in the first round of the 2014 Limoges 125K and in the second round of Birmingham this year, both times coming from a set down to win in three - but today, the Roland Garros and Wimbledon quarterfinalist was able to close her opponent out/fend off the comeback to come out on top.

With both players moving smoothly around the court and anticipating each other's patterns, little would separate them over the course of a first set which featured a total of 16 break points - after Kasatkina's opening service hold, there would at least one in every subsequent game.

The Russian would be slightly more efficient in converting, breaking three times from seven opportunities while Tsurenko was able to take just two of her nine chances. Though the set's eventual stats sheet would tell the tale of an error-filled passage of play - 21 for Tsurenko and 25 for Kasatkina compared to only seven and eight winners respectively - the numbers belied the absorbing quality of many of the rallies. Indeed, though both attempted to approach the match with offensive tactics, each would be stymied by the quality of defence from the other side of the net. More often than not, the aggressor would be forced to reset rallies from commanding positions and eventually fail to find a way past the defender; in the opening stages, Tsurenko would demonstrate an impressive ability to read Kasatkina's game and respond with impeccable shot selection, but the Acapulco champion would equally be undone by her younger rival's touch and control when on the run.

Though for large stretches of the set it would seem as though Kasatkina, who fell behind a break twice, might pay the price for testing the Tsurenko backhand too often, the Dubai and Indian Wells runner-up would manage to snatch the set thanks to timely quality serves and net forays in the final two games.

The 21-year-old's momentum would falter at the start of the second set as both player's level dipped, with Tsurenko drawing first blood to take a 3-1 lead. But though Kasatkina's serve remained vulnerable, she would break twice in a row - converting both times via an aggressive return followed by a wrongfooting forehand winner.

With Tsurenko's unforced error count mounting to reach a total of 42, the US Open quarterfinalist took a medical timeout trailing 4-5. On resumption, Kasatkina would remorselessly test her opponent's movement and stamina, drawing rallies out and being rewarded with mistakes. On her first match point, though, she took matters into her own hands, hammering a forehand down the line and then approaching the net to put away an emphatic smash - and with it, the match. Next up for Kasatkina will be a second-round encounter against either Bernarda Pera or the US Open junior champion, qualifier Wang Xiyu.