Mai Hontama of Japan defeated Russia's Alexandra Panova in the first round of qualifying at the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing 7-5, 6-1. According to api.tennis, the match ended in two sets, 2-0, and the Japanese player will continue her bid for a place in the main draw. The tournament is played on hard courts with a prize fund of $9.4 million.
The first set proved to be the most hard-fought part of the encounter, ending 7-5 in favor of Hontama. In the second set, the Japanese player was fully in control and conceded just one game, winning 6-1.
Form and head-to-head record
Hontama arrived in Beijing as the 13th seed in qualifying. According to rank.tennis, she is ranked 160th with 451 points. Shortly before this, the Japanese player lost in the first round in Seoul to Eunhye Lee 0-6, 7-5, 3-6. At the US Open, she defeated Lina Gjorcheska 7-6(7), 6-3.
For Panova, the loss in Beijing continued a difficult run of results. Her previous singles match was a first-round defeat at the tournament in Guadalajara to Katrina Scott 2-6, 4-6. The head-to-head between the two players now stands at 1-0 in favor of Hontama.