LEXUS OF LAS VEGAS OPEN

Written by: Staff on 28th September 2011

2011 Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships

LEXUS OF LAS VEGAS OPEN

Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez hits a forehand return to Kazakhstani Galina Voskoboeva during the women's final match of the 2011 Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships at Olympics Park in Seoul, South Korea, on 25 September 2011. EPA/JEON HEON-KYUN |

LAS VEGAS, Nev., (Sept. 27, 2011) – There’s something about Las Vegas that enables Maria Sanchez to play her best tennis.

The former USC All-American from Modesto, Calif., who turned professional in June following four years as a Trojan, won her first-round match in singles and doubles on Tuesday at the third annual Lexus of Las Vegas Open, a $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit event, taking place at the Red Rock Country Club in Summerlin.

Sanchez, who was granted a wild card into the event, said she has survived a “rough” summer and that her game is finally coming together after her 6-1, 7-5 win over Monica Puig of Puerto Rico, 6-1, 7-5.

In 2010, Sanchez and partner Irina Falconi made the finals of the doubles, as tournament wild cards.

“I like it here,” Sanchez said of the Red Rock Club and Las Vegas. “It’s a great tournament. These guys (co-tournament directors Jordan Butler and Tyler Weekes) put on a great tournament. They make everyone feel comfortable.”

She added, “I felt like it went well in both singles and doubles today. I had never played Monica in singles but I stayed calm and got off to a quick start and that helped. Then, it got close in the second set and I hung tough. I was happy with the way everything went.”

Later in the day, Sanchez teamed with former UCLA star Yasmin Schnack to upset the No. 2 seeded doubles team of Irena Pavlovic (France) and Kathrin Woerle (Germany), 6-4 6-3.

Also winning first-round main-draw singles matches on Tuesday were defending champion Varvara Lepchenko, the No. 3 seeded player, No. 8 seeded American Jamie Hampton, and USTA wild-card entry (and NCAA team champion) Allie Will from the University of Florida.

On Wednesday, 2009 US Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin will open up play with a first-round singles match against Sessil Karatantcheva of Kazakhstan on Stadium Court beginning at 9:30 a.m. Following Oudin, local Las Vegas resident Asia Muhammad squares off against No. 2 seed Anna Tatishvili.

In doubles on Tuesday, Muhammad teamed with Alexandra Mueller but the pair fell to No. 3 seeded Alexa Glatch and Mashona Washington, 6-4, 6-1. Ironically, Muhammad and Glatch won last weekend’s $75,000 Pro Circuit doubles event in New Mexico.

In the final round of qualifying, 17-year-old American Krista Hardebeck defeated fellow American Shelby Rogers to earn a place in the main draw. Hardebeck won three rounds over the last three days to qualify. She will face No. 4 seed Mirjana Lucic, a former Wimbledon semifinalist, tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.

Follow on Twitter for live results at @lvprocircuit. Also, visit the tournament website at: www.lexuslvopen.com.

Tuesday’s Singles Scores

(Final-round Qualifying)

Ying-Ying Duan (China) def. Amra Sadikovic (Switzerland), 6-3, 7-5

Vasilisa Bardina (Russia) def. Alexandra Stevenson (U.S.) (2), 5-7, 6-4, 6-3

Krista Hardebeck (U.S.) def. Shelby Rogers (U.S.), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) def. Nicole Melichar (U.S.), 6-1, 6-7(1), 7-6(2)

Main Draw

Maria Sanchez (U.S.) def. Monica Puig (Puerto Rico), 6-1, 7-5

Jamie Hampton (U.S.) [8] def. Petra Rampre (Slovenia), 7-6 (4), 6-1

Timea Babos (Hungary) def. Irena Pavlovic (France), 7-6 (5), 6-4

Allie Will (U.S.) def. Kathrin Woerle (Germany), 6-3, 7-5