MAYO HIBI UPSETS NO. 7 SEED ON FIRST DAY OF MAIN-DRAW PLAY AT PARTY ROCK OPEN

Written by: Staff on 25th September 2013

MAYO HIBI UPSETS NO. 7 SEED ON FIRST DAY OF MAIN-DRAW PLAY AT PARTY ROCK OPEN |

LAS VEGAS (Sept. 24, 2013) – US Open National Playoff winner Mayo Hibi continued her impressive form with a marathon first-round win at the Party Rock Open on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old from Irvine, Calif., upset No. 7-seeded Sesil Karatantcheva of Kazakhstan, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3 in three hours and 38 minutes to kick off main-draw play at the Darling Tennis Center.

“Every point was a grind,” said Hibi, who won her first $50,000 event earlier this year in Sacramento. “She was so solid from the baseline. You really don’t know what to expect.”

Hibi had never faced Karatantcheva, who has been ranked as high as No. 35 in the world and is a member of the Kazakhstan Fed Cup team. Hibi said she watched some points via YouTube to prepare for the match.

Hibi, who captured two major junior events – the ITF Carson Spring International and the ASICS Easter Bowl – back-to-back in April, said the warm desert air didn’t bother her. “It’s such a great atmosphere here and the wind wasn’t too bad today,” she said.

Hibi will play the winner of tomorrow’s Taylor Townsend-Asia Muhammad match, which begins at noon on stadium court.

Muhammad, the No. 4-seeded player in qualifying, won her third match in three days to qualify for the main draw with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Brianna Morgan. Muhammad had to come back from a break down 4-2 to win the second set.

“I feel really good,” said Muhammad , 22, who has played her hometown event the past five years. “I feel warmed up and I’ve gotten used to the courts. I’ve gotten all the butterflies out.”

In the night match, two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist Tamira Paszek downed 2012 Party Rock Open semifinalist Adriana Perez from Venezuela, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (7).

Joining Muhammad as qualifiers into the main draw were: No. 2-seeded Allie Kiick, Jacqueline Cako, and No. 3 Sanaz Marand.

The Party Rock Open is Las Vegas’ only professional tennis tournament, and is named for LMFAO’s Redfoo and his Party Rock franchise’s title sponsorship. The Party Rock Open is Presented by ProtectYourBubble.com, an award-winning gadget insurance company.

The event is a USTA $50,000 Pro Circuit women’s tournament with a 32-player field in singles and 16 doubles teams.

Final Qualifying match results from Tuesday:

Allie Kiick (US) [2] def. Denise Muresan (US) 6-1, 6-0

Jacqueline Cako (US) def. Lauren Embree (US) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

Asia Muhammad (US) [4] def. Brianna Morgan (US) 6-1, 7-5

Sanaz Marand (US) [3] def. Tori Kinard (US) 2-6, 7-5, 6-4

First-main draw singles

Tamira Paszek (AUT) def. Adriana Perez (VEN) 7-6 (8), 7-6 (7)

Michelle Larcher de Brito (POR) [2] def. Elizabeth Lumpkin (US) [wc], 6-2, 6-3

Mayo Hibi (JPN) def. Sesil Karatantcheva (KAZ) [7] 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3

Chanel Simmonds (RSA) def. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) [3] 6-1, 1-6, 6-1

Amra Sadikovic (SUI) def. Julia Boserup (US) [wc], 6-4, 6-3

Alexandra Stevenson (US) [wc] def. Grace Min (US) [5] 6-1, 7-6 (7)

First-round main draw doubles

Anna Tatishvili (GEO) / Ajla Tomljanovic (CRO) def. Jacqueline Cako (US) / Natalie Pluskota (US) [3] 6-2, 6-3

Samantha Crawford (US) / Sachia Vickery (US) def. Anamika Bhargava (US) / Lenka Wienerova (SVK) 7-5, 6-3

Melanie Oudin (US) / Taylor Townsend (US) def. Ulrikke Eikeri (NOR) / Mayo Hibi (JPN) 6-2, 6-3

Macall Harkins (US) / Sanaz Marand (US) def. Jan Abaza (US) / Louisa Chirico (US) 7-5, 7-5

Wednesday’s Matches

Stadium Court, starting at Noon

wc: wild card; q: qualifying;

Taylor Townsend (US) vs. Asia Muhammad (US) [q]

Followed by Chieh-Yu Hus (US) vs. Maria Sanchez (US) [4]

Followed by Asia Muhammad (US)-Allie Will (US) [1] vs. Madison Brengle (US)-Allie Kiick

Not before 6 p.m.

Melanie Oudin (US) vs. Petra Rampre (SLO)

Court 11, starting at Noon

Allie Will (US) [wc] vs. Shelby Rogers (US) [8]

Followed by CoCo Vandeweghe (US) [6] vs. Eleni Danilidou (GRE)

Followed by Alja Tomljanovic (CRO) [1] vs. Jacqueline Cako (US) [q]

Followed by Lauren Embree (US) / Mary Weatherholt (US) [wc] vs. Tamira Paszek (AUT) / CoCo Vandeweghe (US) [2]

Court 10, starting at Noon

Sachia Vickery (US) vs. Madison Brengle (US)

Followed by Anna Tatishvili (GEO) vs. Samantha Crawford (US)

Followed by Emily Harman (US) / Elizabeth Lumpkin (US) vs. Stephanie Bengson (AUS) / Sachia Jones (AUS)

Followed by Chieh-Yu Hsu (US) / Nicole Melichar (US) [4] vs. Denise Mursean (US) / Caitlin Whoriskey (US)

Court 8, starting at Noon

Sacha Jones (AUS) vs. Allie Kiick (US) [q]

Followed by Sanaz Marand (US) [q] vs. Tereza Mrdeza (CRO)

Premier sponsors include: BILT by Agassi and Reyes, Newcastle Brown Ale, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Cox Communications, WG Communications Group, ESPN 1100, Lotus Broadcasting, www.10sBalls.com, USTA-Nevada, Real Water, Court Think, LLC, and Agent Atleta, LLC.

Support sponsors include: Marty Hennessy Foundation, Approach Tennis, Ryan Wolfington, Marquis Aurbach Coffing, Marcy Saxe Realty One, Allstate Agent Dwain Frazier, Dr. Jedediah Jones, The Massage Advantage.

The tournament’s official website is www.partyrockopen.com. Follow along on Twitter @partyrockopen and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/partyrockopen.com.

About the USTA Pro Circuit

With approximately 90 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country and prize money ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals. The USTA launched its Pro Circuit 34 years ago to provide players with the opportunity to gain professional ranking points, and it has since grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, offering nearly $3 million in prize money. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries competed in cities nationwide. Mardy Fish, Maria Sharapova, John Isner, Caroline Wozniacki, Sam Querrey, Li Na and Andy Murray are among today’s top stars who began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit.

Topics: Mayo Hibi, Party Rock Open, Sports, Tennis, US Open, Usta