JAPANESE qualifier Aoi Ito stunned Italian seventh seed Jasmine Paolini 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) on Tuesday to reach the third round of the WTA Canadian Open.
The 21-year-old beat American Katie Volynets in the first round for her first WTA 1000 level triumph then followed with her first victory over a top-10 opponent by rallying from a set and break down to advance after two hours and 27 minutes.
World number 105 Ito saved a match point in the 10th game of the second set and outlasted sixth-ranked Paolini to book a third-round match against Spain’s 51st-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who defeated American Ashlyn Krueger 6-4, 6-4.
Ito reached the semi-finals last October at Osaka in her WTA debut and claimed a 125-level title at Canberra in January, but until this week had not won a tour-level match.
In other matches, DC Open champion Leylah Fernandez dropped her opener on home soil, falling to Australian Maya Joint 6-4, 6-1.
Russian fourth seed Mirra Andreeva advanced to the third round in a walkover past Canada’s Bianca Andreescu, while US eighth seed Emma Navarro ousted Canada’s Rebecca Marino 6-1, 6-2.
US top seed Coco Gauff, who had a first-round bye, was set to play her opening Montreal match later against compatriot Danielle Collins with a third-round berth at stake. - AFP