Eleventh-seeded John Isner reached the second round of the Western & Southern Open with a relatively easy 6-3, 6-4 win over Kevin Anderson on Monday night.
The match was just the second in their 10 meetings in which at least one set didn’t go to a tiebreaker.
“That one’s not the norm for us,” said Isner, the runner-up to Rafael Nadal in last year’s tournament. “I thought I played well from the very beginning. I was seeing the ball well. From the first warm-up ball, I felt like it was going to be a good night. It helped that Kevin didn’t play as well as he normally plays. A lot of things went well.”
I thought I played well from the very beginning. I was seeing the ball well. From the first warm-up ball, I felt like it was going to be a good night. It helped that Kevin didn’t play as well as he normally plays. A lot of things went well.
Eleventh-seeded Dominika Cibulkova became the first seeded woman to be ousted, losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3, 6-3.
Three other seeded women who played on Monday advanced to the second round. Ninth-seeded Ana Ivanovic came from behind in the second set to beat Sorana Cirstea, 6-1, 7-5, while 12th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki dispatched Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-2, 6-3, in a match that was interrupted by a late-afternoon storm and 13th-seeded Flavia Pennetta prevailed over qualifier Chanelle Scheepers, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-2.
Ivanovic prevailed despite dealing with lingering back problems, she said.
“I was happy,” she said. “I was a little bit doubtful going on the court considering last few weeks. I had a little bit struggle with my back, but I was able to move free, especially in the first set, and I played well. Also, it was tough playing a good friend of mine. It’s never easy. You have to put it aside and try to do the best you can on court
Samantha Stosur will meet Serena Williams after defeating Varvara Lepchenko, 6-2, 7-5.
In women’s play earlier in the day, Madison Keys accomplished something Serena Williams couldn’t by beating Alize Cornet. Keys pulled off a 6-2, 6-4 win over Cornet to advance.
In the men’s draw, 16th-seeded Tommy Robredo survived a first-set tiebreaker to advance to the second round with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over wild-card American Jack Sock.
Fernando Verdasco needed three sets to eliminate Marcel Granollers, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
