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STANFORD, Calif. (www.mubadalasvc.com) – The only seeded player in action on Monday, No. 8 Andrea Petkovic made quick work of Ajla Tomljanovic in a 6-1, 6-4 victory during the opening day of competition at the 2014 Bank of the West Classic at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Avenging a loss to Tomljanovic in the only previous meeting between the two players, Petkovic cruised in the first set and won the final three games of the second frame after trailing 4-3.
Meanwhile, qualifiers Naomi Osaka and Sachia Vickery continued their impressive tournament runs, with both players posting their third victory in as many days. The hard-serving, 16-year-old Osaka stunned 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5 in a match that lasted 2.5 hours and required Osaka to rally from a 5-3 deficit in the deciding set. Vickery breezed to a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Shuai Zhang, completing her victory in 64 minutes.
CoCo Vandeweghe held off a charge from wildcard and former Stanford All-American Kristie Ahn, prevailing 6-2, 7-6 (5). The 2012 Bank of the West Classic runner-up relied on her powerful serve to turn away the upset bid from Ahn, who compiled a 97-17 record and clinched the Cardinal’s 2013 NCAA title against Texas A&M.
Also winning singles matches on Monday were Karolina Pliskova (6-1, 6-3) and Varvara Lepchenko (6-4, 6-3).
The start of doubles play also got underway, with the third-seeded pairing of Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro defeating Eva Hrdinova and Andreja Klepac 6-4, 6-2.
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ABOUT THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC: The Bank of the West Classic is the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world and is the first stop of the Emirates Airline US Open Series. Owned and operated by IMG, the WTA Premier event features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw with total prize money of $710,000. Held on Stanford University’s campus at Taube Family Tennis Stadium since 1997, former champions include: Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters.
ABOUT THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC: Founded in 1874, $68 billion-asset Bank of the West (www.bankofthewest.com), Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender, offers a wide range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services. The bank operates more than 600 retail and commercial banking locations in 19 Western and Midwestern states. Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which has a presence in 80 countries with 190,000 employees.
About the Emirates Airline US Open Series: Now in its 11th season, the Emirates Airline US Open Series continues to serve as a true regular season of hard court tennis, linking eight summer tournaments to the US Open. Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams won the 2013 US Open and Emirates Airline US Open Series men’s and women’s titles, each earning a record tennis paycheck of $3.6 million. Roger Federer (2007) and Kim Clijsters (2005) also accomplished the feat of winning the Emirates Airline US Open Series and US Open singles title within the same year.