Doi, Gracheva kick off Phillip Island Trophy with Garcia, Stephens upsets
For the second time during the COVID-19 pandemic, a WTA tournament is taking place concurrently with the second week of a Grand Slam. Last September, the Tennis Championship Istanbul took place during the US Open, with Patricia Maria Tig
Saturday saw the 250-level event kick off in dramatic fashion, with upsets and epics plentiful. The two highest seeds in action on the first day were both knocked out, with Varvara Gracheva
Gracheva's all-court game garnered the 20-year-old Russian 12 winners to 10 unforced errors and meant that Stephens is yet to pick up a victory this season. Indeed, the former US Open champion has now lost her last 10 matches against Top 100 opposition, an unfortunate streak stretching back to Beijing 2019.
However, Doi's performance could serve as inspiration for getting back on track. The Japanese World No.87 was on a five-match losing streak at WTA main draw level and had dropped her last eight matches against Top 50 players, dating back to Osaka 2019 - but saved six out of seven break points while taking four out of 12 on the Garcia serve en route to a straight-sets win.
Elsewhere, Sara Sorribes Tormo
Following her three-hour, 23-minute defeat of Bernarda Pera
.@DKasatkina gets the round 1 victory over Boulter, 6-4, 6-2. 👏#PhillipIslandWTA pic.twitter.com/3VhGbKczxu
— wta (@WTA) February 13, 2021
Also coming back from the brink was Anna Blinkova
Elsewhere, former World No.10 Daria Kasatkina