Pliskova advances to 2nd round at Japan Women's Open (Sep 11, 2017)
TOKYO (AP) Fourth-seeded Kristyna Pliskova advanced to the second round of the Japan Women's Open by beating Chang Kai-chen of Taiwan 7-5, 7-5 on Monday.
The Czech had 14 aces in hot and windy conditions at Ariake Colloseum and will face either Nao Hibino or Miyu Kato in the second round.
Third-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium also advanced, beating Evgeniya Rodina of Russia 7-6 (6), 6-1.
Also, Wang Qiang of China defeated Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan 7-5, 6-2 and Jana Cepelova of Slovakia advanced when Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus retired while trailing 6-3, 1-0.
Japanese veteran Kimiko Date, who announced last week she will retire for good after the Japan Women's Open, will play 78th-ranked Aleksandra Krunic in the first round on Tuesday.
The 46-year-old Date, who had a career-high ranking of No. 4, retired once before in 1996 and returned to competition in 2008.
