Whole the first round matches and half of the second round are already completed in Strasbourg, which hosts one of two WTA 250 tournaments this week. 5 out of 8 seeds are still in the competition. The second seed Elise Mertens, who pulled out from the tournament just before the start of the main draw, while 3rd seed Shuai Zhang and 5th seed Sorana Cirstea got eliminated in their first round matches.
The Chinese suffers a really hard time on the courts in recent weeks, as the lose to Anna Lena Friedsam was the 7th defeat in a row for the current world's number 30. The extent of the lose in Strasbourg is even more painful for Zhang, as she did not manage to win any single game against the German, who advanced into second round with a score 6-0 6-0. Zhang managed to score just 20 single points and did not create any single breakpoint throughout whole the match. Friedsam is also already out of the tournament, as she has already played her second round's match against Anna Blinkova. The Russian made it through the quarterfinals after winning in straight sets 6-4 7-6(11). Blinkova prevailed in a really tight tiebreak and sailed the victory after converting 5th matchpoint in the decisive game of second set.
Clara Burel made a huge upset on Sorana Cirstea, as the 5th seed was a confident pre-match favorite, rated with an odd 1.18. The French started the match well, and managed to take the victory in the tiebreak. Burel was up with a break twice, but despite losing the advantage, the world's number 122 managed to regain it in the 13th game, winning it 7-5. Cirstea has raised up her level after the start of second set, quickly moving up into 3-0 lead with a double break advantage, after winning 12 out of 14 points in first 3 games. This cushion was not enough though, as Burel performed the comeback and leveled the score after 8 games. The French sealed the victory in the 12th game, which was the highlight of whole the match. Burel produced 6 breakpoints during the Cirstea's service game and converted the 6th one into the winning matchpoint after the game which was 8 deuces long. This result is the biggest upset on paper in the tournament so far.
Magda Linette moves onto the second round after defeating Cristina Bucsa in three sets. The top seed has started the match slowly by losing all of the 4 opening games, and lost the first set in general with a score 6-4. The Pole fought back by dominating in second and third set, winning both with a score 6-2. Linette will face the wild card receiver Anastasia Pavluychenkova in the second round. The Russian has easily overcame her fellowcountry Angelina Gabueva, winning 6-3 6-1 in just 59 minutes.
Viktoriya Tomova won the most exciting match of the first round, as the Bulgarian eliminated the local favorite Alize Cornet. Tomova defeated the 7th seeded French after 3:02 hours of battle with a score 3-6 6-4 7-5. From the beginning, the match was going well for Cornet, who won the first set 6-3 and started the second set with an early break and 2-0 lead. Tomova fought back to force the decider after the momentum switched for her favour in the middle of second set, which she won 6-4. The Bulgarian has followed the blow, as being on the front foot from the start of third set. This was quite a shaky one, as Tomova was moving up into the lead 4 times, but managed to close the match just after the 12th game. Cornet has defended the matchpoint, while Tomova was serving for the match within a score 5-4, but the Bulgarian regained her advantage 2 games later and broke her opponent again, which decided whole the match.
The match between Su Wei Hsieh and Erin Routliffe was one of the highlights of the opening round in Strasbourg. The popular 37 years-old player from Chinese Taipei comes back into competition after 19 months of break. Hsieh managed to win both the qualifying matches to take place in the main draw, where she faced the player from New Zeland, who is the well-known doubles specialist. Despite the long break from competing, Hsieh was a banker favorite before the match against Routliffe, who barely plays in the singles competitions on the highest level. The player from New Zealand was rated with a pre-match odd 8.25, but managed to prevail against Hsieh in three sets though, winning with a score 7-6(2) 1-6 6-1.
