By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednessay April 3, 2024
Taylor Townsend claimed her fifth career Top-20 win to set a third-round clash with Victoria Azarenka in Charleston.
Photo Source: Getty
Rain gave way midway through Wednesday in Charleston, allowing the completion of several second-round matches.
That was good news for Taylor Townsend, who reached the round of 16 at the Credit One Charleston Open for the first time since 2019 with an impressive 7-5 6-2 victory over sixth-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova. Towsend’s victory sets an all-mom third-round clash with No.12-seeded Victoria Azarenka in the third round.
The victory for Townsend marks her fifth career Top 20 victory. The 68th-ranked American won for the first time in three encounters against World No.15 Alexandrova, who defeated two Top 5 players en route to the semifinals at Miami last week.
Azarenka stormed to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretta. Also a semifinalist at Miami last week, 34-year-old Azarenka improved to 15-6 on the season. Azarenka and Townsend have never met before.
Wozniacki Stopped By Kalinina Again
Caroline Wozniacki was dealt a second defeat at the hands of Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina, the Dane falling to 7-6 on the season after dropping a 6-2, 6-3 decision to the No.15 seed.
It’s the second time in as many events that Wozniacki has lost to Kalinina – the 33-year-old squandered a match point and fell 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 in a three hour and 18-minute second round tussle at Miami two weeks ago.
On the green clay in Charleston, in heavier conditions, it was all Kalinina from start to finish, the coming through in one hour and 20 minutes.
“It was a totally different surface today, clay, compared to hard courts,” the World No.33 said. “So I think today maybe I used my stronger sides better than in Miami."
Kalinina will face No.4-seeded Daria Kasatkina, who defeated American teen Ashlyn Krueger 6-3 0-6 6-1 on Wednesday.
American Emma Navarro was also a winner on Wednesday in Charleston. The current World No.20 (and No.10 seed) humped Katie Volynets 6-1, 6-1 to set a third-round clash with Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian, while former champion Veronika Kudermetova took out Shelby Rogers, 7-6(5), 6-4, and Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia closed the night with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Caroline Dolehide.
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