Rybakina sails past Townsend in Cincinnati opener
World No. 2 Elena Rybakina has advanced to the third round of the Cincinnati Open with a straight-sets victory over Taylor Townsend, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation.
The second seed, Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, received a bye in the first round and played against American Taylor Townsend (world No. 94).
The match, which lasted 1 hour and 19 minutes, went the minimum two sets and ended with Rybakina’s victory, 6-3, 6-4.
She fired five aces, committed one double fault, and converted three of four break points.
In the third round, the Kazakhstani player will face Poland's Magdalena Frech (ranked 41st), who knocked out Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko (30th).
It is worth mentioning that Rybakina reached the semifinals in Cincinnati last year and will be defending 390 ranking points.
The Cincinnati Open, officially known as the Western & Southern Open, is a prestigious WTA 1000 event held annually in Ohio.
Earlier, Sonja Zhiyenbayeva of Kazakhstan won her second straight tournament in Spain.