MONTREAL — Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci are the top doubles players on the WTA Tour, but it didn’t help them in their opening round singles matches Monday at the US$2.44 million Rogers Cup.
Sabine Lisicki downed Errani 6-1, 7-5 while Barbora Zahlavova Strycova ousted Vinci 7-5, 7-5 in the first matches played at the hardcourt event.
Italians Errani and Vinci are ranked first in doubles, having taken Wimbledon and the Australian open titles this year.
But while Errani is 15th in singles, most of her success has been on clay courts, while Lisicki likes the faster surfaces. Lisicki hit the fastest recorded serve in WTA history of 211 kilometres per hour last week in the first round at Stanford, breaking Venus Williams’ record.
Errani was serving for the second set at 5-3, but let it slip away.
Zahlavova Strycova advanced to a second-round meeting with third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska. Lisicki next plays the winner between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys.
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