American Alycia Parks, the only seeded player in action on the first day of the ATX Open in Austin, Texas, didn’t make it out of the Round of 32, falling 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to Sweden’s Mirjam Bjorklund on Monday.
Parks, a 22-year-old from Atlanta who began the month by winning her first career title (in Lyon, France), had a whopping 14 aces to Bjorklund’s none on the hardcourt, but she double-faulted 11 times while her opponent did it only once.
Bjorklund also saved nine of the 11 break points she faced. Parks, who was seeded seventh, went 0-for-3 on her break-point save opportunities.
American Peyton Stearns topped Great Britain’s Katie Boulter 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5) in the tightest match of the day. Katie Volynets beat Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 in a matchup of Americans.
Great Britain’s Heather Watson and Russia’s Anna Blinkova were the day’s other winners.
Abierto GNP Seguros
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia made quick work of second-seeded Marie Bouzova of the Czech Republic, winning 6-4, 6-2 on the first day of play in the hardcourt tournament in Monterrey, Mexico.
Schmiedlova dominated in the return game, winning 46 percent of her first return points, 67 percent of her second return points and converting half of her 10 break opportunities. Bouzova was at 26 percent, 59 percent and 29 percent, respectively, in those areas.
Fifth-seeded Lin Zhu of China beat Hungary’s Anna Bondar 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the day’s only other match featuring a seeded player. Caroline Dolehide of the United States, Canada’s Rebecca Marino and Belgium’s Ysaline Bonaventure also won in the Round of 32.
Eleven matches are scheduled for Tuesday, including top-seeded and fifth-ranked Caroline Garcia of France — whom Parks beat in the final in Lyon — facing Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan.
–Field Level Media