No. 2 seed Lepchenko rolls in Lexus tennis opener
The calendar indicated it was fall, but it felt like the middle of summer Tuesday as the $50,000 Lexus of Las Vegas tennis tournament opened at Red Rock Country Club.
Varvara Lepchenko, the No. 2 seed, handled the triple-digit temperatures with no problem, easily advancing to the second round with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Kathrin Woerle. Not as fortunate was seventh-seeded Julia Cohen, who lost to Chelsey Gullickson, 0-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
Cohen appeared to be in control, only to see Gullickson fight her way back into the match, forcing and winning a second-set tiebreaker. With momentum on her side, Gullickson broke Cohen twice in the final set to advance.
Other first-round winners included Lauren Albanese, who won a first-set tiebreaker and went on to beat Stephanie Foretz Gacon 7-6, 6-0, and Alexandra Mueller, who dropped the first set to Alexandra Stevenson but rallied for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 victory.
Today's first-round singles play will be highlighted by Las Vegan Asia Muhammad's match against Mariana Duque-Marino on the Stadium Court. Muhammad, who was given a wild-card entry into the tournament, dropped her first-round doubles match. She and Ashley Weinhold lost to Lindsay Lee-Waters and Megan Moulton-Levy, 6-4, 6-2.
Also scheduled for singles action today is top-seeded Edina Gallovits, who faces Petra Rampre. Play begins at 10 a.m.
