Russian number one dumped out of US Open
Russian women’s number one Daria Kasatkina was on the wrong end of a shock as she suffered a first-round US Open defeat to British underdog Harriet Dart in New York on Monday.
Heading to Flushing Meadows on the back of winning the WTA title in Granby, Canada, last weekend, Kasatkina found herself up against it in a battle of attrition against Dart.
After dropping the first set on a tiebreak, the Russian had appeared to steady herself by taking the second set 6-1, only for the 26-year-old Brit to fight back and clinch the third set 6-3 in a contest spanning two hours and 27 minutes.
The scalp of Kasatkina is one of the biggest of her career for Dart, ranked number 88 in the world, and she now moves on to a second-round match against Hungary’s Dalma Galfi.
In contrast it is disappointment for Kasatkina, 25, who reached a maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the French Open earlier this year and had seemed primed for a decent run in New York, where her best performance remains a fourth-round appearance in 2017.
However, there was success for Russia’s women elsewhere in New York as 18th seed Veronika Kudermetova defeated Croatia’s Donna Vekic in straight sets in their clash.
Kudermetova, 25, earns passage to a second-round match with Maryna Zanevska of Belgium.
Russia’s Ludmilla Samsonova won her first-round match against Czech qualifier Sara Bejlek in routine fashion, 6-3 6-1.
Samsonova, 23, next faces last year’s beaten US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez in the second round.
Compatriot Evgeniya Rodina, 33, is also into the next stage of the women’s singles after an upset win over Italian 27th seed Martina Trevisan in straight sets.
Rodina plays Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia next in New York.
