WTA Cincinnati: Paolini advances, Cocciaretto eliminated

WTA Cincinnati: Paolini advances, Cocciaretto eliminated

Balance of one win and one loss in the first round of the Cincinnati WTA 1000 for the Italian women tennis players. Jasmine Paolini swept Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in two sets (6-2 6-1) in just over an hour of play. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, on the other hand, was defeated in two sets by former Us Open champion Sloane Stephens, who won with a score of 7-5 6-2 after one hour and eighteen minutes.

In the first set, the Tuscan broke the balance at 3-2, gaining the break lead, which she repeated in the final, taking the serve off the Ukrainian and making the first partial her own. In the second set, the Italian started badly and gave up the serve in the opening game. From that moment, however, she strung together six consecutive games, entering the second round where she awaits the winner of the match between Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic.

Many regrets for Cocciaretto, especially in the first set. The Marche player in fact went up 5-2 with as many as two breaks ahead. Here, however, comes the reaction of Stephens who wins 4 consecutive games and completes the comeback, bringing home the first partial. In the second set the inertia is in favor of the U.S., who immediately goes ahead and closes the file in response to the second useful match point, fixing the score at 6-2 final.

Also engaged in the night will be Martina Trevisan, who will face the U.S. Bernarda Pera.