Home » Karolina Pliskova triumphs at the Silicon Valley Classic after Daria Kasatkina defeats Elena Rybakina.

Monday’s first round of the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose saw Daria Kasatkina defeat Elena Rybakina. The seventh seed needed an hour and 40 minutes to complete her comeback victory over the 2022 Wimbledon champion, winning 1-6, 6-2, 6-0.

In the first set, Rybakina won 84 percent of her points on her first serve and converted two of the five break points Kasatkina faced while saving the other three. Her playing, though, began to decline after the second set and reached an all-time low in the decisive set.

58 percent of Kasatkina’s second-serve points and 66% of her first-serve points were won. In addition, she returned 75% of the points Rybakina served on her second serve. Rybakina only won one of the two games she played in the set thanks to a break, but Kasatkina handled everything Rybakina threw her way.

In the final set, Rybakina won none of the six points played on her second serves while being able to win only 33% of her first-serve points. Comparatively, Kasatkina won 83% of the points she served first and made all three of her break chances against her rival’s serve.

In the set, she didn’t encounter any break points.

The Silicon Valley Classic is won by Americans

Kasatkina will compete against Taylor Townsend in the second round. In a qualifying match against Australian Storm Sanders, the American prevailed 6-1, 6-4 in 70 minutes to advance.

Elizabeth Mandlik, another American qualifier who last week made her main draw debut at a WTA event, advanced to the second round as well. In their opening-round encounter, the 21-year-old defeated fellow countrywoman Alison Riske 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 21 minutes.

Mandlik, who is the daughter of former Grand Slam champion Hana Mandlikova, will next face Paula Badosa, the second seed. In San Jose, Amanda Anisimova and Madison Keys both advanced to the round of 16. Keys defeated Shuai Zhang 6-4, 6-2, while Anisimova overcame fellow countrywoman and wildcard Ashlyn Krueger, 6-2, 7-6(5).

Keys will take against the third-seeded Ons Jabeur in an attempt to advance to the quarterfinals. The eighth-seeded Karolina Pliskova will face Anisimova in the Silicon Valley Classic’s round of 16. The Czech player survived the competition with scores of 1-6, 7-6(5), and 6-3 after exacting revenge for her Wimbledon loss to British wildcard Katie Boulter. Image Source: WTA Russians Social media/Mathias Schulz