Luksika wins at Flushing Meadows

The second seed managed to break her opponent once in each of the sets to take the match in one hour and 43 minutes. It was her first win at Flushing Meadows. Last year, she bowed out in the first round of the qualifiers.

“I was playing well but then made some silly mistakes which I shouldn’t have. Early breaks in both the sets really helped me because she fought really hard until the end,” said the 98th-ranked player, who also beat the Japanese for the title in a US$75,000 ITF event in Toyota last November. Luksika has lined up a second-round date with Germany’s Carina Witthoeft, ranked No 170 in the world. It will be their first encounter.

“I never played her before but it will be tough no matter who I have to meet at this stage. The court is quite fast which suits my game. But the ball flies quite high and I have to adjust to that,” said the Thai.

While Luksika is still in the tournament, Thai No 2 Noppawan Lertcheewakarn had to retire while trailing Australia’s Ashleigh Barty at 1-6 0-1 due to a sprain to her left ankle. “I picked up the injury during practice last week in Bangkok. It’s a pity that I couldn’t continue. Now I need to take a week’s break and get ready for the Asian Games,” said Noppawan.