Putintseva beats Rodriguez 6-4 6-3 in Monterrey qualifying

Yulia Putintseva controlled her qualifying semifinal in Monterrey, seeing off V Rodriguez 6-4 6-3 in straight sets without ever losing her grip on the match. The Kazakh's serve was the difference: she landed 66.2% of first serves and won 67.4% of those points, and remarkably won 68.2% behind her second delivery, hitting three aces against two double faults. Rodriguez actually found the box more often, at 70.2%, but took just 60.0% of her first-serve points and only 35.3% behind the second, which left her constantly under pressure. The win carried Putintseva into the final qualifying round.