Top seed Riske-Amritraj upset in WTA Chennai Open

Chennai: Russia’s Anastasia Gasanova pulled off the biggest upset of the 2022 WTA Chennai Open with a straight set win over top seed
Alison Riske-Amritraj at the SDAT Tennis Stadium here on Tuesday evening. Ranked No 147 in the world, Gasanova broke the 23rd-ranked American twice in the first set to win 6-2.
In the second set, Riske-Amritraj broke in the first game to lead 1-0, but Gasanova broke back immediately and took the lead again to complete a 6-2, 6-3 win in one hour and 29 minutes.
Gasanova will next meet Great Britain’s Katie Swan, who defeated Arianne Hartono 6-1, 6-2 on Court 1 while former French Open semi-finalist Nadia Podoroska advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Kyoka Okamura on Court 2.
There was disappointment for local fans as India’s No. 1 ranked player Ankita Raina went down in straight sets to fourth seed Tatjana Maria. The German, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon earlier this year, won 6-0, 6-1 in an hour and 16 minutes.
Second seed Varvara Gracheva and third seed Magda Linette scored straight set wins in the final matches on Tuesday night. Gracheva needed one hour and 52 minutes to beat qualifier Mariia Tkacheva 6-3, 6-2, while Linette scored a 6-4, 6-0 win over Moyuka Uchijima.
Results: First Round:
Anastasia Gasanova beat Alison Riske-Amritraj (1) 6-2, 6-3
Varvara Gracheva (2) beat Mariia Tkacheva (Q) 6-3, 6-2
Magda Linette (3) beat Moyuka Uchijima 6-4, 6-0
Tatjana Maria (4) beat Ankita Raina 6-0, 6-1
Katie Swan beat Arianne Hartono 6-1, 6-2
Nadia Podoroska beat Kyoka Okamura (Q) 6-4, 6-3
Carol Zhao beat Olivia Tjandramulia 6-1, 6-1
Oksana Selekhmeteva beat Despina Papamichail 6-3, 6-1. (UNI)