The WTA is in Prague this week for the J & T Banka Prague Open 2015. The main draw has a number of Czech tennis players hoping to do well at their home tournament, with the top seed being a Czech, World #14 Karolina Pliskova. Monday, the first day of play, saw two young Czech players pull off upsets. The first of the two upsets was pulled off by Wild Card Denisa Allertova. The 23-year-old, currently ranked at 103 in the world, upset American Coco Vandeweghe ranked at 37 on the WTA rankings in straight sets 6-4 6-1. The second upset was of the sixth seed, Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu, currently ranked at 33rd in the world, who fell in straight sets to 18-year-old Katerina Siniakova who is ranked at #76.
First round matches continued on day two, which was cool and rainy with very few fans braving the weather. Top seed Karolina Pliskova needed three sets spread between raindrops and a rain delay to defeat Annika Beck of Germany. The first set saw Pliskova make numerous unforced errors after she had opened the court up for easy winners. But she took control in the next two sets and used her strong serve and powerful ground strokes to close out the match.
Next up, Czech Barbora Strycova, #22 in the rankings, took on American Madison Brengle. Brengle, now ranked at 36 on the WTA tour, is having a breakout year and reached the semifinal last week in Stuttgart. Strycova struggled to close out the first set but eventually succeeded in the tiebreaker. In the second set she managed to break Brengle when it mattered and sealed a straight set win.
Meanwhile another Czech player, 84th-ranked Klara Koukalova, was taken to a tiebreaker in the first set by 66th-ranked German Julia Georges. Koukalova prevailed in the tiebreaker and was able to win the second set for a straight sets win.
Second seed Czech Lucie Safarova, world ranking #13, will play her first-round match against another Czech player, #65 Tereza Smitkova, Tuesday. Czech Lucie Hradecka, ranked #74, also begins her campaign Tuesday–facing Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ranked #41.
Second round matches are also scheduled to begin with Siniakova facing Polona Hercog of Slovenia and Allertova to face fifth seed Alize Cornet of France. Koukalova will face qualifier Ana Konjuh of Croatia ranked #93. If the weather cooperates those players completing the first round may also play their second round match after suitable rest.
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