KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — The seeded players are falling like tenpins at the BMW Two-time WTA Tour winner Annika Beck of Germany and China’s Zheng Saisai, the fourth and eighth seed respectively, both became the latest high profile first-round casualties on Tuesday afternoon at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Bukit Kiara.
World No.42 Beck lost to 7-5, 6-3 to Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas while qualifier Yang Zhaoxuan of China scored arguably the biggest upset of the day when she rallied from a set down to send Saisai Fifth seed Nao Hibino of Japan suffered the same fate losing 6-4, 6-2 to China’s Duan Ying-ying on
Beck, whose maiden visit to Kuala Lumpur lasted only an hour and 30 minutes, would be wondering how she lost the tie that she has dominated so comfortably in the opening stages. Beck raced to a 4-1 lead and was on the brink of winning the first set at 5-3. But Zarina, who reached the quarter-finals in 2013, stunned Beck by winning the next four games to draw the first blood.
The second set saw the match was evenly fought for the first six games before Zarina broke Beck’s serve to make it 5-3 and went on to seal the win.
Zhaoxuan, the world No.176, was overjoyed to have secured her first win over Saisai, whom she has lost to in previous two encounters. “I’m thrilled to reach the second round,” said 21-year-old, who idolised Chinese legend Li Na.
“I surprised myself with this win against Saisai. She had the upper-hand having beaten me before. I fought very hard in the second set to get myself back in the match.
“It was a very difficult battle, not only against a good opponent, but with the heat as well.” The tournament’s fourth day also belonged to another two qualifiers as Japan’s Risa Ozaki and Zhu
Lin of China have also booked their berths in the second round. World No.190 Zhu Lin defeated Russia’s Alexandra Panova, the opponent who ranked 30 rungs higher than her 6-4, 6-4 while Japan’s world No.133 Risa Ozaki also proved she’s no pushover by whitewashing world No.87 Elizaveta Kulichkova 6-0, 6-2.
Zhu Lin said: “My opponent is that kind of play who serves very well, so I had try to server better in order to gain advantage. I think I did well today and I was managing well and am so glad to have won.”
World No 10 Roberta Vinci was handed a shock first round defeat by Taiwan’s Chang Kai Chen in the BMW Malaysian Open at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Bukit Kiara tonight.
The top seed was expected to make a lasting impression in Kuala Lumpur and claim her second title of the season but Kai Chen turned the tables with an impression 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 Roberta was jovial despite the defeat, stating that her opponent played a very good match.
“I came back from 3-1 down to take the first set but Kai Chen played much better in the following sets. Frankly, I was mentally and physically tired after having played three back-to-back tournaments,” said Roberta after the match.
“I know that everyone expects a top seed to win but it is impossible for a high ranking player to achieve everything. I am a little sad, though.”
On her thoughts being a top 10 player, Roberta said it has added more pressure. “It is much better when you are in the top 40 but I am happy to have finally achieved my goal. I hope to be a Grand Slam champion before I retire,” said the 33-year-old.
Kai Chen, who was out of the game for a year following a wrist surgery, said her decision to be more patient after the first set paid dividends.
“I slowed down my game and played the points patiently. Roberta is a tough player as she has a variety of styles. I think Roberta was tired as she had done a lot of travelling in-between tournaments of late,” said the 153rd-ranked player.
Kai Chen plays Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay, who defeated German Laura Siegemund 7-5, 6-1, in the second round.
Second seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine turned on the heat with a 6-1, 6-1 thrashing of qualifier Miyu Kato of Japan. The World No 19 plays Risa Ozaki in the second round.
Elina used the match to try new things from practice and the three-time WTA Tour winner described the win as a good start to the tournament.
“I tried some new things and also made some changes to my game during the match. I want to be more aggressive and also treat each point like it my last in matches. Overall, I have improved in some aspects,” said Elina, the highest ranked Ukrainian in the tour.
