Radwanska, Kerber have 1st-round exits in Madrid
May 2, 2016 | 1:19am
MADRID — Top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska and Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber were upset in the opening round of the Madrid Masters on Sunday (Monday in Manila).
Radwanska, who was elevated to the No. 1 seeding when Serena Williams withdrew, was beaten 4-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6 by Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.
Radwanska hit five aces but also had six double-faults and was broken 11 times by Cibulkova.
Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic beat second-seeded Kerber 6-4, 6-2.
Cibulkova was coming off a win at the Katowice Open last month and a narrow loss to Radwanska at Indian Wells, where she had a match point.
Cibulkova will next meet Caroline Garcia, who was leading 6-4, 2-1 when Johanna Konta retired from their match.
Heading into their clay-court opener, Kerber hadn't dropped a single set to Strycova in four prior meetings.
But the third-ranked Kerber was broken by Strycova four times to fall in a little over an hour.
The 33rd-ranked Strycova faces Madison Keys, who rallied past fellow American Alison Riske 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Third-seeded Garbine Muguruza had little trouble advancing past Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2, 7-5, breaking her serve six times.
"In Madrid we have this extra pressure because I'm here at home," Muguruza said. "Perhaps you're a little bit more nervous because of that. But my first feeling is that I'm satisfied for winning the match, fighting, as I fought a lot."
Defending champion Petra Kvitova, seeded fifth, eased past Lara Arruabarrena 6-3, 6-2, and fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka defeated Laura Robson 6-4, 6-2.
Azarenka, in her first tournament since winning both Indian Wells and Miami, improved her record to 25 wins and one loss this year.
Sixth-seeded Simona Halep downed Misaki Doi 6-0, 6-3, and eighth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro had a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Timea Babos.
Also advancing were 11th-seeded Lucie Safarova, 13th-seeded Karolina Pliskova, 14th-seeded Ana Ivanovic, Samantha Stosur and Sabine Lisicki.
Other seeded players making early exits were No. 7 Roberta Vinci and No. 9 Svetlana Kuznetsova.
In the first round of the men's tournament, Fernando Verdasco beat Juan Monaco 7-5, 7-6 (3), and Alexandr Dolgopolov outlasted Steve Johnson 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
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