Sun upsets Kasatkina; Eala, Pavlyuchenkova impress in Eastbourne
An upset, a dazzling debut and an implausible comeback were among the standout matches from Day 1 of the Lexus Eastbourne Open.
Wimbledon quarterfinalist Lulu Sun came to life on grass once again, ousting No. 1 seed and defending champion Daria Kasatkina 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Earlier, qualifier Alexandra Eala needed just 61 minutes to win her first tour-level grass-court match 6-0, 6-1 over Lucia Bronzetti; and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova saved six match points, including five in a row in the third-set tiebreak, to escape Viktoriya Tomova 6-1, 6-7(5), 7-6(7).
Sun and Kasatkina had to battle through blustery conditions that saw the ball "swirling everywhere," as Sun put it afterwards. The scoreline swirled around, too: Sun leapt out to a 4-0 lead, only for Kasatkina to reel off five straight games herself. Sun saved one set point down 5-4 with a delicate volley and managed to close out the opener, but had to withstand another momentum shift in the second set before regaining control in the third. The World No. 46 had come into Eastbourne with just a 6-15 season record, but found her flat strikes rewarded on the slick lawns.
"I really enjoy playing on grass," Sun said in her on-court interview. "It's a really unique time of the season."
Miami semifinalist Eala had qualified with wins over Zeynep Sonmez and Hailey Baptiste, and delivered a near-flawless performance to defeat Bronzetti. Taking the ball early and redirecting it with ease, the 20-year-old Filipina rattled off a series of brilliant winners and never let up her intensity. Among the highlights were an exquisite drop shot to seal set point in the opener after an 18-shot rally, and a terrific forehand down the line on the run that ended a 22-stroke exchange in the second set.
After dominating the first set, Pavlyuchenkova seemed on course for a straight-sets win as she held match point serving at 5-4 in the second set. But stellar Tomova defense elicited an unforced error, and the Bulgarian forced a decider -- where she also held match point serving at 5-4. A mishit backhand slice squandered that, but Tomova nonetheless advanced to a 6-1 lead in the tiebreak.
Facing quintuple match point, Pavlyuchenkova rose to the occasion. She saved two with clean winners and another one with a backhand that was almost as good. The remaining two were saved courtesy of two errant Tomova backhands. After 2 hours and 37 minutes, Pavlyuchenkova sealed her third match point as another Tomova backhand went long.
Sun will next face Anna Blinkova, who defeated Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Eala will meet either former champion and No. 3 seed Jelena Ostapenko -- in what would be a rematch of their Miami second round, won by Eala -- or British No. 3 Sonay Kartal. Pavlyuchenkova will take on either No. 4 seed Sofia Kenin or qualifier Kimberly Birrell.
