Auckland rain means differing fortunes at ASB Classic

Indoor opening round matches has brought good news for one Grand Slam champion but bad news for another at the ASB Classic.

Photo: AFP

Auckland’s ongoing wet weather forced organisers to move remaining first round singles matches to indoor courts on Wednesday.

The move didn’t negatively impact 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, who fought through a tough first set to eventually advance with a 7-6 6-3 victory over China’s Xinyu Wang.

The result set up an intriguing second round match between Kenin and top seed Coco Gauff.

However, the indoor situation didn’t work so well for another American, Sloane Stephens.

The second seed and 2017 US Open champion did her best to find some rhythm in the second set but couldn’t prevent a 6-3 7-6 defeat to 130th-ranked Rebeka Masarova of Spain.

On the other indoor court, American Lauren Davis and Montenegro’s Danka Kovinich both went through to the second round.

Davis eased past Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek 6-2 6-1, while Kovinic beat Japanese player Nao Hibino 6-1 6-4.

Chinese fifth seed Xiyu Wang was unable to resume her first round match from Tuesday and retired at 5-3 down to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.

Second round matches featuring Canadian third seed Leylah Fernandez, American veteran Venus Williams and British star Emma Raducanu were scheduled for outdoor courts on Wednesday but late in the day no play had been possible.

In the doubles, New Zealand’s Paige Hourigan and American playing partner Sachia Vickery were knocked out in the first round.

They suffered a 7-5 6-3 defeat to the Czech Republic’s Tereza Martincova and Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

– RNZ