Kanepi through to round two in Charleston after lengthy battle
Kaia Kanepi is through to round two of the Charleston Open after defeating local player Shelby Rogers in three sets, 6:7 (2:7), 7:5, 6:2 in an encounter which lasted nearly three hours.
While Kanepi, ranked 57th in the world, had seven set ball chances in the opener, she lost out in a tie-break.
Set two saw Rogers, ranked 44th in the world and a native of Charleston, SC, take an early lead, but Kanepi came from behind to reach 7:5.
In the deciding set, Kanepi took an early lead 2:0, retaining the set lead throughout and only dropping two games.
Kanepi will face Magdalena Frech (Poland, ranked 87th), who overcame Petra Kvitova in two sets in her first round game. Kanepi and Frech have never met competitively before.
Estonia's top player, Anett Kontaveit, has given the second-tier WTA500 tournament a miss, though notable top players taking part are Paula Badosa (Spain), Aryna Sabalenka and Karolina Pliškova (Czech Republic) are in the Charleston tournament.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
