JOIN USIsner enters round two
American John Isner redeemed himself after his early exit in Toronto a week ago, with the 11th seed beating Canadian quarterfinalist Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters on Monday.
Isner fired 15 aces in his 55-minute win only a few hours after a rainstorm caused flash flooding at the tournament site and left unpaved car parks sinking in mud and grass.
Spanish 16th seed Tommy Robredo advanced over American Jack Sock 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.
Philipp Kohlschreiber beat Jeremy Chardy of France 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and Benjamin Becker surprised Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 to end a six-match losing streak against the giant Croat.
Australians split the difference with French opponents as Marinko Matosevic exploded in anger during a win over Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
The Aussie thought he had won on an ace but the point was over-ruled, prompting the outburst which included cursing and a kick towards a television camera after finally advancing moments after his ace-gone-wrong.
France’s Gilles Simon, nursing injury last week, beat Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-2.In women’s opening-round matches, ninth seeded Ana Ivanovic kept her back problem under control to defeat good friend Sorona Cirstea of Romania 6-1, 7-5.
Doubtful
“I was happy, I was a little bit doubtful going on the court considering last few weeks,” said the winner, ranked 11th. “I had a little bit struggle with my back, but I was able to move free, especially in the first set, and I played well.
“It was tough playing a good friend of mine. You have to put it aside and try to do the best you can on court.”
Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova upset 11th seed Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 6-3 while number 12 Caroline Wozniacki started with a win over Magdelena Rybarikova 6-2, 6-3.
Italian 13th seed Flavia Pennetta beat South African Chanelle Scheepers 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2.
Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine defeated Lauren Davis of the US 6-3, 6-2 while China’s Zhang Shuai beat British qualifier Heather Watson 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.