Blinkova beats Salkova in straight sets in Cincinnati qualifying

Anna Blinkova came through the Cincinnati qualifying semifinals with a controlled straight-sets win over Dominika Salkova, 6-3 6-4. The Russian landed only 49.1% of her first serves, but she made them count, winning 67.9% of those points against just 48.6% for Salkova, whose 59.3% first-serve accuracy brought her far less reward. The margin widened on second serve, where Blinkova took 41.4% of the points to the Czech's 33.3%, enough to offset six double faults from each player. With one ace apiece, the difference was efficiency, and it carried Blinkova into the final qualifying round.