American Elvina Kalieva got off to a winning start in qualifying for the China Open, a WTA 1000 event. In the first round, the third seed defeated Australian Ellen Perez 6-2, 6-4 to continue her push for a place in the main draw. The tournament is played on hard courts and carries a $9.4 million prize fund. According to rank.tennis, Kalieva sits 109th in the WTA rankings with 666 points.
Kalieva took the first set 6-2. In the second, Perez won two more games but couldn't turn the tide, falling 4-6 as the American closed out the match without dropping a set, 2-0.
End of a losing streak
The win snapped a rough stretch for Kalieva. Before Beijing, she lost in the first round in Seoul to Katie Volynets (3-6, 0-6), fell to Kayla Day in Guadalajara (6-7(9), 4-6), and was eliminated in the opening round of the US Open by Lanlana Tararudee.
Perez also arrived in Beijing off a defeat, having lost 1-6, 2-6 to Joanna Garland in the first round in Singapore. At the US Open, the Australian reached the fourth round, where she fell to the pairing of Elise Mertens and Diana Shnaider. According to api.tennis, Kalieva leads their head-to-head 1-0.