Wang Xinyu of China defeated Emiliana Arango of Colombia 7-6(1), 6-3 in the women’s singles first round at the WTA Cincinnati Open in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Friday, securing the first win of her career at the tournament.
In Wang’s debut at the Cincinnati Open last year, she was knocked out by No. 10 seed Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-4 in the first round. This time, the 23-year-old Chinese faced World No. 80 Arango for the first time.
The first set was close as the two exchanged four breaks. Wang held in the 12th game to force a tiebreak which she began with a 4-0 lead and claimed 7-1 to clinch the set.
Arango had a good start in the second set as she broke Wang in the third game. However, the World No. 38 immediately broke back and then added another in the eighth game for a 5-3 advantage. She then held to end the competition in straight sets.
Wang will face second-seeded home favorite Coco Gauff in the next round.
China’s Yuan Yue began the tournament with a victory as well after beating Cristina Bucsa of Spain 6-2, 6-2 in the first round. Both entered the main draw as lucky losers and Yuan had won both of their previous two meetings.
World No. 98 Yuan was in remarkable form from the start and soon built a 4-0 lead in the first set before taking it 6-2. Bucsa, who is eight places above Yuan in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, broke for a 2-0 advantage as the second set began.
Nonetheless, the 26-year-old Chinese then claimed six consecutive games in response, sealing the deal 6-2 to set up a second-round showdown against Russian No. 14 seed Diana Shnaider.
Elsewhere in Cincinnati, China’s Zhu Lin and Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti battled each other for nearly three and a half hours before Bronzetti survived 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-6(6).
The first set was dramatic as Zhu wasted a 4-1 lead and trailed 5-4 after the ninth game, but she broke back in the 10th game and dragged the set into a tiebreak. The 31-year-old Chinese first missed two set points at 6-4, but managed to score two straight points to clinch it 8-6.
Bronzetti played with aggression in the second set and soon took it 6-2 to tie the match. The third set was filled with many twists as well. Zhu began with a 3-0 lead but then allowed four games in a row. She had the chance to end it at 6-5, but missed a match point and had to play another tiebreak. In the end, Bronzetti pocketed the victory after Zhu hit a double fault. The Italian will play No. 15 seed Daria Kasatkina of Australia next.
Wang Xinyu beats Emiliana Arango for first win at Cincinnati Open
