Dominant Pegula, Navarro Pass Early Tests on Charleston Clay

BIRTHDAY GIRL SHNAIDER CELEBRATES WITH 6-3, 6-2 VICTORY

Credit One Charleston Open top seed Jessica Pegula showed no signs of slowing down on Wednesday following her run to the final of the Miami Open. The 31-year-old American eased through her clay-season opener in Credit One Stadium, dismissing qualifier Iryna Shymanovic, 6-0, 6-3, in one hour and 10 minutes.

“Always tricky when it’s the first match, but thought I played pretty well,” said Pegula, who moves on to meet Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia. “It was kind of a weird match. She wasn’t playing that great at the beginning, but then she started playing pretty good tennis, and it got a little tricky there in the second. But I’m happy that I was able to get through that second set. I’m happy I was able to figure it out.”

Jessica Pegula.

Fourth seed Emma Navarro was also among those advancing to the Round of 16 on a sunny afternoon on Daniel Island. The American outlasted countrywoman Hailey Baptiste, 6-4, 6-3. Baptiste managed to convert just one of her 13 break-point opportunities against the Charleston native in the one-hour, 33-minute contest.

“Her serve is really tough to play against,” said Navarro of her opponent, who finished with five aces. “It not only has pace, but it has kind of a bite to it. It jumps off the court, especially a green clay court. And she moves it around the box really well. I didn’t have an easy time returning against it.”

Making her debut under the Australian flag, 2017 champion Daria Kasatkina rolled past American Lauren Davis in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. The fifth seed will next face 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, who advanced with an impressive 6-0, 6-3 decision over Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, the Charleston champion in 2022.

“It’s a really special moment for me to win the first match as an Australian player,” said the Russian-born Kasatkina, who has been competing on the tour as a neutral athlete since 2022. “I’m really happy with that. I couldn’t believe that one day something like that would happen to me. I’m so proud.”

Kasatkina said it was impossible to hide her emotions when she walked onto the Credit One Stadium court to: ‘PLEASE WELCOME FROM AUSTRALIA, DARIA KASATKINA.’

“It was difficult to keep them back because my smile was going through,” she said. “I felt it would be strange being called a ‘player from Australia’, so I couldn’t handle my smile. I got such a warm welcome from the crowd. It made for this amazing mix of emotions. It was not easy to step on court playing the first match with the new flag, but I’m really happy how I was able to manage those nerves and get a win.”

Australian transplant Daria Kasatkina.

Former NC State star Diana Shnaider, the sixth seed, celebrated her 21st birthday in winning fashion via a speedy 6-3, 6-2 victory over Polina Kudermetova on Court 3.

Reigning Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen of China outmuscled Greece’s Maria Sakkari, 6-4, 6-1.

Anna Kalinskaya, the 14th seed, earned a Round-of-16 matchup with 2019 titlist Madison Keys via a 6-1, 6-4 decision over American Caty McNally.

“If I stay healthy, work and try to improve every week, go day by day, I believe I can reach the Top 10,” said Kalinskaya, who last year climbed as high as No. 11 in the PIF WTA Rankings, but has since dropped to No. 33 due to an injury layoff.

Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, a finalist here in 2017, scored a 7-5, 6-2 win over American qualifier Louisa Chirico, setting an intriguing Round-of-16 meeting with defending champion Danielle Collins.

Ninth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova topped American Ann Li, 6-3, 6-0, while Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva defeated China’s Zhang Shuai, 7-6(5), 6-1.