Zhang Ousts Kvitová in First Round Upset

Shuai Zhang of China upset Petra Kvitová in first round action.

Photo by Bill Harper

By Bob Phillips

NEW HAVEN–Petra Kvitová has won the Connecticut Open presented by United Technologies three times. Last night, unheralded Shuai Zhang of China made sure the Czech wouldn't move into the pantheon with her fourth New Haven title—not this year at least. Zhang, a petite 28-year-old from Tianjin, China, took out Kvitová in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, before 4,919 fans at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale University in Monday night’s featured first-round match.

That attendance figure represented a 1,085 gain over last year’s opening night total.

Ranked No.29 in the world, this was Shuai’s second win in three meetings with Kvitová, the two-time Wimbledon singles champ, who was playing in just her seventh tournament since suffering a knife attack in her home in Prostejov, Czech Republic, last December.

“We have met two times and she’s a great player,” said Zhang, who is playing her first match in the U.S. since April. “I play against her without any pressure, so for sure I always play good against a top player. On the [WTA] Tour I like her so much, so I like playing against her. I’m so happy to see her come back and keep healthy. I think everything was good for me today … serve good, return good.”

Returning from a knife attack last December, Kvitová was hoping to join
the New Haven pantheon with her fourth win in Connecticut, but it
wasn't in the cards this year.

Photo by Bill Harper

Not quite a year into her comeback, the setback was a tough one for Kvitová, who considers New Haven one of her favorite stops on the tour.

“It’s a great feeling to be back. I love the center court. I love the crowd,” said the 27-year-old Czech, who is just 4-4 on hard-courts this season. “Unfortunately I didn’t play my best. I’m just really glad I was able to compete here once again. When she was up she played really great tennis today and of course it’s tough when she’s not missing anything. It’s still a long process for me to come back and play at my high level.”

In other daytime matches, Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium topped Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine 6-2, 6-3, and Ana Bogdan of Romania swept past Russia’s Elena Vesnina, 7-5, 7-5. In doubles play, Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and Yifan Xu of China defeated Andreja Klepac of the Czech Republic and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain, 6-3, 6-7(14), 10-3.

Martina’s Swan Song?

Hall-of-Famer Martina Navratilova played in what may
be her last on-court performance vs. fellow Hall of Famer
Mats Wilander.
                                                                 Photo by Bob Phillips

In what may be her last-ever on-court appearance as a player, the legendary Martina Navratilova took part in a wildly entertaining mixed doubles match with and former men’s tennis great Mats Vilander on Stadium Court Monday night after the conclusion of first-round play. Both players were ranked No. 1 during their illustrious careers, and Navratilova, with 18 major singles titles and over 30 Grand Slam doubles titles on her resume, is considered by many to be the best women’s player who ever lived. Both are members of the Tennis Hall of Fame.

Bouchard Eclipses Davis

Earlier in the day, Canadian Genie Bouchard stopped American Lauren Davis in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3. What made this match so unique had nothing to do with anything that happened on the court; rather, it had to do with what was going on in the heavens above.

This first-round match was played during a total eclipse of the sun.

OK, to be honest, the eclipse was not total in New Haven—it was approximately a 70 percent eclipse. Still, playing a WTA match during the rarest of Mother Nature’s phenomenon’s is a completely unique experience.

“I was playing during the eclipse today!” tweeted Bouchard, ranked No. 74 and a former No 7-ranked player. “It got dark & cool, could feel nature’s weird vibes.”

Bouchard, a wild-card entry, will now challenge the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, in the Round of 16. For a complete round-up of Monday’s action, click HERE.

Tuesday’s key matches:

[1] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) v Eugenie Bouchard (CAN)
Radwanska, the defending Connecticut Open champion, will face former world No.7 Genie Bouchard. The recently married Radwanska is searching for her first title of the season. She reached her 28th singles final in Sydney in January. The 2012 Wimbledon runner-up, Radwanska has not dropped a set in three prior encounters with Bouchard, a Canadian national who defeated Maria Sharapova in Madrid.

[8] Peng Shuai (CHN) v Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO)
Lucic-Baroni started the year with a flourish, reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal in 18 years at the Australian Open before finally cracking the world’s Top 20 in May. The 35-year-old Croatian defeated Peng in their only prior encounter. Peng, best known as a doubles player thanks to two Grand Slam titles, claimed her second career singles championship at the Jiangxi Open just after Wimbledon this year.

Daria Gavrilova (AUS) v Timea Babos (HUN)
Gavrilova, ranked No. 26, would no doubt have rather taken on fourth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic, whom she defeated last week in Montreal. But Babos, currently ranked No. 66 in the world, had other ideas when she defeated Mladenovic, the 14th-ranked player from France. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two.

RESULTS - AUGUST 21, 2017

Women's Singles - First Round

• S. Zhang (CHN) d [3] P. Kvitova (CZE) 62 61
• T. Babos (HUN) d [4] K. Mladenovic (FRA) 75 75
• [Q] A. Bogdan (ROU) d [5] E. Vesnina (RUS) 75 75
• [6] A. Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d [LL] C. Mchale (USA) 36 62 64
• D. Kasatkina (RUS) d [7] B. Strycova (CZE) 75 63
• [8] S. Peng (CHN) d K. Siniakova (CZE) 16 63 76(3)
• [WC] E. Bouchard (CAN) d L. Davis (USA) 61 63
• D. Gavrilova (AUS) d [Q] K. Pliskova (CZE) 75 46 75
• [Q] K. Flipkens (BEL) d L. Tsurenko (UKR) 62 63
• [Q] E. Mertens (BEL) d K. Bertens (NED) 46 64 62
• [Q] M. Linette (POL) d R. Vinci (ITA) 63 61

Women's Doubles - First Round

• [4] G. Dabrowski (CAN) / Y. Xu (CHN) d A. Klepac (SLO) / M. Martínez Sánchez (ESP) 63 67(14) 10-3
• S. Aoyama (JPN) / D. Jurak (CRO) d N. Hibino (JPN) / A. Rosolska (POL) 63 76(6)

ORDER OF PLAY - TUESDAY, AUG 22

STADIUM

12 p.m. Noon

• C. Suárez Navarro (ESP) vs [Q] J. Cepelova (SVK) 
• T. Babos (HUN) vs D. Gavrilova (AUS)
• D. Kasatkina (RUS) vs [Q] E. Mertens (BEL)

Not Before 7 p.m.

• [1] A. Radwanska (POL) vs [WC] E. Bouchard (CAN)
• M. Lucic-Baroni (CRO) vs [8] S. Peng (CHN)

SPORTMASTER GRANDSTAND

12 p.m. Noon

• K. Flipkens (BEL) / D. Schuurs (NED) vs M. Ninomiya (JPN) / R. Voracova (CZE)
• [1] S. Mirza (IND) / M. Niculescu (ROU) vs [Alt] N. Melichar (USA) / A. Smith (GBR)
• A. Spears (USA) / K. Srebotnik (SLO) vs [2] A. Barty (AUS) / C. Dellacqua (AUS)

After Suitable Rest

• E. Mertens (BEL) / K. Pliskova (CZE) vs N. Kichenok (UKR) / An. Rodionova (AUS)

—Kristine Phillips contributed to this report