Live updates: ASB Classic women's tournament at Auckland's ASB Tennis Centre, Day Two

Live
03/01/2023
Grant Chapman

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11:24pm - Play has been abandoned for the night, with suspended matches to be rescheduled for tomorrow. Get some sleep and catch you back here then.

11:11pm - Players are back out on court, warming up for a resumption from rain delay... how many times have we said that today?

Wait, the umbrellas are going up again... that rain is heavy and everyone leaves again. Stand by for further announcements.

10:53pm - Organisers hope to resume play at 11:10pm.

10:38pm - Masarova holds again and leads 30-0 on Stephens' serve, when rain returns and play is suspended... again.

10:24pm - On the outside court, Muchova has an early service break agains fifth seed Wang and leads 4-2 in the first set.

Masarova holds the opening service game for a 1-0 lead over Stephens.

10:03pm - And Gauff duly obliges, advancing to meet the winnger of Wang v Kenin in the second round.

Coco Gauff (USA) beat Tatjana Maria (Germany) 6-4 6-1

Next on centrecourt is former champion and second seed Sloane Stephens against Spaniard Rebeka Masarova.

Thankfully, the last single matches of the night have already been moved to an early start on Wednesday, with Xinyu Wang v Sofia Kenin and Tamara Zidansek v Lauren Davis now scheduled for 10am Wednesday.

10:01pm - Maria finally holds serve and forces Gauff to serve out for the match at 5-1 in the second set.

9:57pm - Gauff holds serve and Maria now serves to stay in the match at 5-0 down in the second set.

9:55pm - Gauff breaks Maria for a second time to lead 4-0 in the second set... but you may recall she did that same in the opening set, before her rival came charging back.

9:42pm - Gauff holds her opening serve of the second set and finally breaks Maria for a 2-0 advantage. Ruse makes light work of Routliffe, taking the third set to advance to the second round, where she'll face the winner of Wang v Muchova.

Elena-Gabriela Ruse (Romania) beat Erin Routliffe (NZ) 6-2 4-6 6-4

Ruse will presumably get a short break, before teaming with Czeck Tereza Martincova for a first-round doubles match against Kiwi Paige Hourigan and American Sachia Vickery.

9:26pm - Gauff only needs a couple of minutes to break Maria's serve and take the first set 6-4.

9:22pm - Players are back on the court to warm up (again), after rain has passed. Maria will serve to level the first set at 5-5 against Gauff, while Kiwi Rouliffe is still battling to keep her match with Ruse alive.

8:43pm - Remember what I said about the rain returning? It has.

8:36pm - Gauff holds serve to lead 5-4 and can take the set with a break here...

8:29pm - Players are back on court to warm up, after the rain ceased, but there's every chance of more rain delays tonight. Maria will serve to level the opening set at 4-4 against top seed Gauff, while Kiwi Routliffe is battling to extend her singles match with Ruse on the outside court.

7:58pm - Rain sweeps through the ASB Tennis Centre and players scramble for cover. With two more matches still to come on centrecourt, this could be another late night...

7:54pm - Maria takes a second service break and the first set against top seed Gauff is back on serve at 4-3.

Meanwhile, Ruse is now serving for the third set and victory over Kiwi Routliffe.

7:46pm - Speed wobbles for Gauff, as Maria takes a service break back to trail 4-1 in the first set.

7:43pm - Gauff breaks again and leads 4-0 in the opening set.

Routliffe is serving at 3-4 to level up the third set against Ruse.

7:36pm - Gauff breaks Maria in her first service game and takes a quick 3-0 lead in the opening set on centrecourt.

7:31pm - Kuzmova/Rus take the super tiebreak and books a doubles quarter-final clash with Contreras Gomez and Harrison.

Viktoria Kuzmova (Slovak Republic)/Arantxa Rus (Netherlands) beat Madison Brengle (USA)/Rebecca Marino (Canada) 7-6(3) 6-7(2) 10-8

Next on Court One, Martincova/Ruse will face Kiwi Paige Hourigan and American Sachia Vickery... but that won't happen anytime soon, because Ruse is still occupied with Kiwi Erin Routliffe on Grandstand Court. She currently leads 4-2 in the third set.

7:22pm - Gauff serves first against Maria.

On the outside court, Routliffe has lost serve twice to trail 4-0 in the third and deciding set against Ruse.

7:05pm - And Raducanu completes her comeback from a set down to edge Fruhvirtova and progress to the second round to face Viktoria Kuzmova.

Emma Raducanu (UK) beat Linda Fruhvirtova (Czech Republic) 4-6 6-4 6-2

Meanwhile, Routliffe takes the second set 6-4 against Ruse and Brengle/Marino takes the second set of their doubles clash to force a super tiebreak.

Next up on centrecourt, top seed Coco Gauff faces German Tatjana Maria...

7:02pm - Raducanu is serving for the match at 5-2, Kuzmova/Rus and Brengle/Marino are into a second-set tiebreak in doubles.

Routliffe has broken Ruse's serve and is now serving for the second set.

6:52pm - Fruhvirtova breaks to delay what seems inevitable, now trailling 5-1 in the third and deciding set against Raducanu.

6:48pm - Raducanu breaks Fruhvirtova again and leads 5-0 in the third, serving for the match.

Routliffe and Ruse still on serve in the second set, while Kuzmova/Ruse are serving for the match against Brengle/Marino in doubles.

6:43pm - Raducanu breaks again for 3-0 in the third set, which could be over quickly at this rate.

6:34pm - Rain has ceased (temporarily) and players have returned to the court at Stanley Street. Raducanu has an early break in the third set against Fruhvirtova and holds serve for a 2-0 lead.

Routliffe and Ruse are 2-2 on serve in their second set.

5:52pm - Romanian Ruse has taken the first set off Kiwi Routliffe 6-2 and already has a break early in the second.

Raducanu breaks Fruhvirtova early in their third set... but it's raining again and everyone is scrambling for cover.

5:40pm - Raducanu holds serve and takes the second set 6-4 against Fruhvirtova, so the pair will now play a third and deciding set. The match has already gone 1h 38m, plus a lengthy rain delay.

Kuzmova/Rus have taken the first set of their doubles match against Brengle/Marino, 7-6(3).

5:33pm - Fruhvirtova holds serve, but Raducanu will now serve for the second set at 5-4.

Routliffe has won a service game, but Ruse leads their first set 4-1 on the outside court. Kuzmova/Rus and Brengle/Marino are into a first-set tiebreak.

5:14pm - Raducanu breaks Fruhvirtova to take a 3-2 lead in the second set on centrecourt.

Meanwhile, Kiwi Routliffe has dropped her first service game to trail Ruse 2-0 in the first set on Grandstand Court.

5:06pm - Fruhvirtova breaks serve early in the second set, but Raducanu breaks straight back and is serving at 2-1 down.

4:54pm - Fruhvirtova breaks Raducanu to take the first set 6-4, while Blinkova serves out to defeat Cocciaretto on the Grandstand Court, progressing to the second round, where she'll meet the winner of Sloane Stephens-Rebeka Masarova later tonight.

Next up, Kiwi Erin Routliffe takes on Romania Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

4:48pm - Upon resumption, Fruhvirtova struggles to hold serve, but manages to do so and leads 5-4 in the first set against Raducanu.

Meanwhile, Blinkova breakers for a 6-5 lead in the third set over Cocciaretto and is now serving for the match.

On Court One, Kuzmova and Rus-Brengle and Marino are warming up for their doubles encounter.

4:41pm - Players are back on court and warming up for a resumption after rain.

4:31pm - Rain has stopped falling for now, but there is more threatening, as organisers work to dry the courts at Stanley Street. Who would schedule international sport in an Auckland summer?

3:57pm - Raducanu staves off several breakpoints to hold serve, then squanders a couple of her own, and with the first set knotted at 4-4, a few spots rain fall over Stanley Street. Both players look to the umpire... and play is suspended at least a few minutes.

On the outside court, Cocciaretto is serving at 5-5 in the third...

Both matches have been suspended, as the players take cover.

3:33pm - Games are with service at 2-2 in the first between Raducanu and Fruhvirtova on centrecourt, and also between Cocciaretto and Blinkova in the third outside.

3:11pm - Cocciaretto duly holds serve and takes the second set 6-4 against Blinkova, forcing a third and deciding set.

2:58pm - Kuzmova finally sends a serve down the T on her fourth matchpoint to capture the second set and victory over fourth seed Pera.

The qualifer will now face the winner of Raducanu v Fruhvirtova - next on centrecourt - in the second round, but also faces a first-round doubles match later today, teaming with Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus.

Viktoria Kuzmova (Slovak Republic) beat Bernarda Pera (USA) 6-4 6-4

On the Grandstand Court, Cocciaretto is serving for the second set over Blinkova...

2:50pm - Pera fights off two match points to hold serve, but Kuzmova will now serve for the win. Meanwhile, Cocciaretto is a serve up over Blinkova in the second set on the outside court.

2:46pm - Kuzmova holds her serve for 5-3 in the second set and Pera must now win her own serve to stay in the match.

2:38pm - Kuzmova has now won four straight games, including two service breaks, to lead Pera 4-3 in the second set, with her service to come.

2:30pm - Kuzmova breaks Pera and will now serve to level the score in the second set on centrecourt,

2:22pm - Blinkova has captured the opening set 6-4 against Cocciaretto on the outside courts, while Pera has already broken Kuzmova in the second set for a 3-0 lead.

2:09pm - Kuzmova wastes no time winning the first set, winning her service game to love for a 6-4 scoreline against fourth seed Pera.

On the Grandstand Court, Blinkova is up a service break at 4-3 in the first set against Cocciaretto.

1:38pm - Welcome to day two of the ASB Classic, where play has just begun on the Grandstand Court, with Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto facing undercover Russian Anna Blinkova.

Ranked 73rd in the world, Blinkova was allowed to enter the tournament, despite her country's invasion of Ukraine last year, but will not represent her nation nor play under its flag this week.

Play will begin an hour early on centrecourt, with last night's clash between American fourth seed Bernarda Pera and Slovak Viktoria Kuzmova resuming, after it was suspended for rain at midnight.

*****

Kia ora, good afternoon and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the ASB Classic women's tournament at Auckland's Stanley Steet.

After an opening day that went well into the night, the tournament's second day holds the prospect of top seed Coco Gauff and second seed Sloane Stephens making their first appearances on centre court.

The event has already seen one singles seed dispatched, with American Madison Brengle falling to Chinese Lin Zhu in three sets, but that's not unexpected for the year's first tournament, where no-one brings any form or match fitness to the table.