Qualifiers Misaki Doi and Nicole Gibbs win third match in three days
STANFORD, Calif. (www.mubadalasvc.com) – Both seeded players in action posted victories on Monday during the opening day of main draw competition at the Bank of the West Classic.
Madison Keys, the tournament’s No. 7 seed and 2015 Australian Open semifinalist, required only 52 minutes en route to breezing past Aleksandra Krunic in the first match of the night session.
Sixth-seeded Andrea Petkovic had to work a little harder for her victory, rallying past Carina Witthoeft 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 in her match.
Qualifiers Misaki Doi and Nicole Gibbs continued their recent strong play, with both players winning their third match in three days. Doi defeated wildcard CiCi Bellis 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the first match of the morning session while Gibbs took down Caroline Garcia 6-4, 7-5 for her first WTA main draw triumph since April.
Wildcard Carol Zhao, a rising junior and All-American from Stanford, dropped a 6-3, 6-0 decision to Mona Barthel in the nightcap. Alison Riske defeated Tatjana Maria 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 in the day’s only other singles match.
Monday also represented the start of doubles play, highlighted by the top-seeded duo of Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan registering a 6-1, 6-3 win over Kimiko Date-Krumm and Mandy Minella.
Tickets for the tournament’s opening round start at just $33 while ticket packages start at $205. For more information, or to purchase tickets, go to www.mubadalasvc.com or call 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497).
The Bank of the West Classic, a Premier WTA event, features a 28-player singles draw as well as a 16-team doubles draw. The event is owned and operated by IMG and serves as the opening women's event of the Emirates Airline US Open Series.
The list of past champions of the event reads like a Who's Who of women's tennis including Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters.
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 $731,000. 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 BANK OF THE WEST: Founded in 1874, $62.4 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 700 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 nearly 200,000 employees.