Seoul
You almost have to wonder why they needed to have a qualifying event in Seoul. After all, the top three qualifying seeds all made the main draw, and #4 might well make it as a Lucky Loser. #1 Sesil Karatantcheva, #2 Jamie Hampton, and #3 Eleni Daniilidou all won their qualifying finals in straight sets; Caroline Garcia edged #4 Greta Arn 6-1 3-6 7-5.
There were no main draw matches played.
Guangzhou
The contrast to Seoul could hardly be greater. In South Korea, the qualifying seeds mostly won easily. In Guangzhou, not one qualifying seed made it through the qualifying — #1, #2, and #3 didn’t even make the final. Our four qualifiers are Luksika Kumkhum, Zarina Diyas, Nudnina Luangnam, and Hu Yue-Yue; it looks as if Chang Kai-Chen will get a Lucky Loser spot.
Singles – First Round: (5) Chanelle Scheepers def. (WC) Wang Qiang 6-0 6-3
Six straight wins here for Chanelle Scheepers — not that this win was in any way surprising, considering her opponent. But Scheepers needs at least two more wins to stay Top Fifty.
Singles – First Round: Bojana Jovanovski def. Timea Babos 6-1 6-3
These two came in ranked only two places apart, but they’re both extremely inconsistent. Clearly Bojana Jovanovski was closer to her best, although she hasn’t moved much yet.
Singles – First Round: Mandy Minella def. Pauline Parmentier 7-5 3-6 6-3
Mandy Minella defends her points; anything else should take her above #65.
Singles – First Round: Laura Robson def. Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor 6-2 3-1 retired (Left Thigh Strain)
Laura Robson will likely hit the Top Seventy if she wins her next match.
Doubles – First Round: (2) H.Chan/Y.Chan def. C.Chan/Sun 7-6(7-4) 6-3
Interesting that, at a time when the Chinese are upset with a lot of other countries, a pair of Taiwanese players beat a Taiwanese/Chinese combination.
Doubles – First Round: Aoyama/Chang def. (4) Bratchikova/Kudryavtseva 6-1 6-7(5-7) 10-1 (Match TB)
This doubles draw is quite weak, and that often means a lot of upsets.