Montreal – Canada’s Kayla Cross lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova in a set lead Monday afternoon in the first round of the National Bank Open.
Cross is a 20-year-old from London, Ontario, ranked 151st in the world and fell to 62nd place in a 55-minute hour on the hard ground at the IGA Stadium.
This is their first professional meeting on the WTA Tour.
Rakimova will face Ukraine’s tenth seed Elina Svitolina in the second round. The first 32 seeds won their first round goodbye in the WTA 1000 Championship.
Later in the afternoon, Ariana Arseneault in Richmond Hill, Ontario will face Japan’s Naomi Osaka.
In the evening, local favorite Eugenie Bouchard will start the final inning in a professional tennis match against Colombia’s Emiliana Arango. The 31-year-old Bouchard, a former world No. 5, recently announced that she would retire after her activities in her hometown.
Carson Branstine grew up in California but represented Canada through family relations in Toronto, where he succeeded Greece’s Maria Sakkari in the final of the night.
