Aryna Sabalenka takes credit for Novak Djokovic’s Shanghai surge: "I hope I was a great hitting partner"

On Monday at the Singapore Tennis Open, top seed Anna Kalinskaya fended off Caroline Dolehide in three sets for her first victory of the season. But seventh seed Emma Raducanu came out on the losing end of a tight decider.

Kalinskaya is looking to put a tough start to the year behind her after losing her opener in Brisbane, retiring down a set in Adelaide to Belinda Bencic with an illness and then withdrawing last minute at the Australian Open due to a virus. Lucky loser Eva Lys notably advanced to the round of 16 in her place.

Kalinskaya didn't get the opportunity to defend her 2024 Australian Open quarterfinal points.

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After Dolehide split sets, Kalinskaya ran away in the third with two breaks of serve. The world No. 18 won 24 of her 36 second-serve return points against the American to advance, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, at the 250-level event.

“It was a tough match. She’s a great player. I had many chances, many break points but she has an unbelievable serve. Some big shots,” Kalinskaya said on court. “It was a good quality of match, so I’m happy for both of us. Too bad we met in the first round, since we are friends. I’m happy that I could push physically in the third set.”

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Raducanu was ousted by Cristina Bucsa in a 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 encounter that took three hours and five minutes to determine a winner. Bucsa twice erased a break deficit in the final set, with Raducanu unable to consolidate on both occasions. The former US Open champion was playing her first match since falling 6-1, 6-0 to Iga Swiatek in the third round at Melbourne Park.

The WTA 500 tournament in Linz is also underway, though eases into the week with two main-draw matches on Day 1. Top seed Karolina Muchova and second seed Elina Svitolina headline the field and receive opening-round rounds.

At the ATP 250 event in Montpellier, wild card Stan Wawrinka was due to face Arthur Cazaux. Alexander Bublik is the defending champion at the indoor hard-court stop that also boasts Andrey Rublev and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

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