Bejlek routs compatriot Pliskova 6-0 6-2 in Cincinnati opener

Sara Bejlek needed barely an hour's worth of resistance to sweep aside fellow Czech Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-2 in the opening round of the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati. The all-Czech meeting turned on the second serve: Pliskova won just 12.5% of those points and coughed up eight double faults, while Bejlek, despite landing only 52.2% of her first deliveries, claimed 70.8% of her first-serve points and a solid 59.1% behind the second. Pliskova's two aces and 68.6% first-serve rate counted for little when her first-serve points won stalled at 51.4%. For Bejlek, it was an emphatic entry into the main draw.