Alina Charaeva vs Sofia Kenin — R32 — Korea Open

Alina Charaeva, ranked WTA No. 133, recovered from a set down to beat Sofia Kenin in the round of 32 at the Korea Open, the WTA 250 in Seoul. The match lasted two hours and 46 minutes. Kenin, ranked WTA No. 100, had been a marginal betting-market favorite at 51 percent, and the pair had no prior meetings on record. Serve was negotiable throughout: 12 breaks in 31 games, with 14 double faults between them. Kenin created nine break points in the first set alone, converted two, and broke in game 8 for 5-3 before closing out the set. The second turned late. Kenin broke in game 11 for 6-5 and served for the set, only for Charaeva to break straight back and take the tiebreak 7-4. The decider ran along the same lines. Charaeva broke in the opening game, Kenin answered in game 4 and levelled again at 4-4 in game 8, and Charaeva broke once more in game 9 to serve it out. She converted all three break points she earned in that set, won 88 percent of her first-serve points in it and hit four of her eight aces there. Kenin did not hit one all match. Charaeva, 24 and competing under a neutral flag, began the season at WTA No. 160. She came to Seoul from a quarterfinal run at the SP Open, where Anna Blinkova beat her four days earlier.