No Kiwis in singles
New Zealand’s involvement in the women’s singles at this year’s ASB Classic has ended, with Valentina Ivanov bowing out yesterday.
The 17-year old Kiwi went down 6-4 6-0 to Bibiane Schoofs from the Netherlands in the second round of qualifying, in front of a large crowd on the Grandstand Court.
The first set was tight and although Ivanov went down a break midway through the first set, she was able to get a break back to make it 4-4.
But on her serve in the next game she made three unforced errors and then a double fault.
The 30-year-old Schoofs then used her experience to keep her composure and serve out the next game for the set.
Unfortunately, the second set was pretty tough going for Ivanov. She served five double faults in it and won just two of the 12 points on her second serve.
While Ivanov was able to produce the odd winner, she wasn’t consistent enough.
Ivanov got to the second round of qualifying, by beating compatriot Paige Hourigan in an epic three-set battle on Saturday, while Erin Routliffe and Elys Ventura also lost in the first round.
Meanwhile, the draw has been done for the doubles, with there being another Kiwi head-to-head match up.
Ivanov and Ventura have been drawn against Hourigan and American Taylor Townsend.
Routliffe, is also playing doubles and has teamed up with her regular partner Alexa Guarachi from Chile to play against Julia Goerges from Germany and Hungary’s Timo Babos.