Charleston Daily Recap: Naomi Osaka and Jelena Jankovic notable victors

The first day of action at the Volvo Car Open was filled with excitement and good matches as half of the first round matches were completed, before rain halted play for the rest of the evening which caused a total of 5 matches to go uncompleted entering the second day.

A notable match is definitely between Laura Siegemund and Lesia Tsurenko, which was decided in a final set tiebreak that went in the favour of the German. Tsurenko was visibly affected by an injury but she persevered on and managed to lead by a break in the final set before crumbling to an inspired Siegemund.

Naomi Osaka got through a huge scare against Johanna Larsson in three sets after losing the tight opening set in a tiebreak. She managed to regain her composure and bounce back from the disappointment by comfortably winning the next two sets, sealing a place in the second round.

Jelena Jankovic looked to be playing her best as she defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets in her opening round match, which included a bagel in the first set. Jankovic looked solid throughout the match, breaking serve six times in the process of sealing a blockbuster meeting against Samantha Stosur in the second round.

There was a bittersweet ending to the match between Katerina Siniakova and Monica Puig as the Czech was forced to retire at 1-4 in the final set due to an unfortunate injury which has been troubling her since the start of the second set after winning a tight first set 6-4. Puig would then face either Kasatkina or Kovinic in the second round.

Other results include Andrea Petkovic comfortably winning her match against Lara Arruabarrena in straight sets, while Alison Riske suffered a huge scare against the dangerous wildcard Kayla Day, eventually triumphing in three sets. Lucky-loser Ons Jabeur also made good use of her second chance as she strolled to a routine victory over Marina Erakovic, losing just five games in the process. Jelena Ostapenko and Kateryna Bondarenko were the other winners of the day.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Rising Stars to Watch in 2017

-        Daria Kasatkina

Photo by Martin Sidorjak

Kasatkina already made a breakthrough in her career this year; breaking into the Top 30 of the rankings and being the youngest player in the Top 40. She also reached the quarterfinals of Indian Wells after beating former Top 10 player Timea Bacsinszky. As a 19 year-old, Kasatkina managed to reach the quarterfinals of the Olympics, losing to Madison Keys. Kasatkina, along with Potapova, are tipped as the future of Russian Women’s Tennis, and future World No.1s.

-        Yulia Putintseva

Photo by Reuters

Putintseva often roars everyone with her loud celebrations and on-court attitude, and she has achieved some great results this year. She reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, before losing to World No.1 Serena Williams despite being up by a set and a break. Seen as a future Grand Slam winner, Putintseva is one to watch in 2017.

-        Jelena Ostapenko

Photo by WTA

Ostapenko had some great runs this year; beating Kuznetsova and Kvitova on the way to her 1^st Premier 5 final in Doha, which pulled her up in the rankings from the 80s to the 40s. Her highest ranking was 34^th in the world, and she was seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career at the French Open this year. Her mixed emotions and her on-court attitude often makes people want to watch her matches, and she has great potential to become a future Top 10 player. 

-        Naomi Osaka

Photo by Getty Images

Osaka reached the third round of every Grand Slam this year, except Wimbledon where she did not play. She had a chance to reach the fourth round of the US Open, but let a 5-1 lead in the final set evaporate against Madison Keys. She also reached her 1^st WTA Final of any kind at the Tokyo Pan Pacific Open, her home event, as a wildcard, defeating eventual WTA Finals champion Dominika Cibulkova along the way. Osaka also won the 2015 WTA Finals Rising Star Invitational Tournament where she defeated Caroline Garcia in the final. Named the newcomer of the year by WTA, Osaka is one of the few players tipped to be a future World No.1.

-        Ana Konjuh

Photo by AP

Konjuh reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, defeating 4^th seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the 4^th round. She also won her 1^st WTA title in 2015 at the Nottingham Open. Tipped for a great future, Konjuh has relatively very little points to defend in the first half of the year, and she would be looking to rise in the rankings.

-        Catherine Bellis

Photo by Getty Images

Bellis won her 1^st WTA Title of any kind at the Hawaiian Open, a WTA 125k event. The win allowed her to break into the Top 75 in the rankings. Bellis is the youngest player in the Top 100 at the moment, and she is tipped for a great future having decided to play professionally and full-time on the tour after reaching the third round of the US Open, losing to eventual champion and World No.1 Angelique Kerber. Bellis would be the favourite to rise in the rankings next year as she would be playing on the tour full time, an opportunity to get more points. Bellis is also tipped as one of the future World No.1s.