Azarenka upsets Krejcikova, Jabeur overcomes Kalinina in Cincinnati
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Azarenka beat Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 7-5 to reach the Cincinnati Open second round.
CINCINNATI (Reuters) - Twice champion Victoria Azarenka upset Czech 11th seed Barbora Krejcikova 6-3 7-5 on Tuesday to reach the Cincinnati Open second round, while Tunisia's Ons Jabeur mounted an incredible comeback to beat Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina 6-3 6-7(2) 7-6(2).
The fifth-ranked Jabeur, in her first match since suffering "the most painful loss" of her career in the Wimbledon final, clawed her way from a 2-5 deficit in the final set in a show of mental toughness, pointing to her head after sealing the win.
Kalinina, who suffered early exits in Montreal and Washington, showed fighting spirit as she broke Jabeur on the fourth try to set up the second-set tiebreak.
But a malfunctioning serve with six double faults in the final set undermined her best efforts and Jabeur was firing on all cylinders when they reached the tiebreak, where the Tunisian clinched it with a backhand winner.
"It's really nice to know where I can go, what I can push, you know, and today was really tough. It was tough to believe I could win this match," said Jabeur, who is into the third round after a first-round bye.
"A lot of frustration in that third set but I'm glad I kept going."
The 34-year-old unseeded Belarusian Azarenka broke Krejcikova four times, saved three of five break points and won the final five games of a match lasting one hour 45 minutes.
Krejcikova battled to get the opener back on serve but Azarenka broke right back and then went on to serve out the first set in the following game on her second set point.
In the second set, Krejcikova grabbed the early momentum and it was Azarenka who had to come back from a break down and then kicked into a higher gear before saving two break points in the final game to serve out the match.
"I am just a fighter and I will keep going until I get it right," Azarenka said during her on-court interview.
"My mentality has been like this since I'm a kid. Growing up not in the greatest conditions I had to fight for everything and that really shaped my personality today."
WOZNIACKI EXITS
Danish wildcard Caroline Wozniacki, in her second tournament out of retirement, lost her opening match 6-4 6-4 to lucky loser Varvara Gracheva of France.
Wozniacki had her chances but failed to convert any of her nine break points and Gracheva's backhand proved too much for the former world number one to handle.
Wozniacki reached the second round last week in Montreal, where she played her first competitive matches after more than three years away to start a family.
Czech ninth seed Petra Kvitova, a Cincinnati finalist last year, also booked her spot in the second round with a 7-6(2) 6-0 win over Russian Anna Blinkova.
In other early action, Jelena Ostapenko beat former Cincinnati champion Karolina Pliskova 1-6 6-3 6-4 and will next face fourth seed Elena Rybakina.
Holder Carolina Garcia of France will kick off the evening session against 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens.
