CiCi Bellis defeats No. 2 seed and defending champion Tatjana Maria at Dow Corning Tennis Classic,


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Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

16-yeard old CiCi Bellis, of Atherton, Calif., defeated No. 2 seed and defending champion of the Dow Corning Tennis Classic, Tatjana Maria, 7-5, 6-3, in the first round today.

Bellis came onto the court with confidence and quickly broke Maria. Maria tightened up her game,  fired in four aces, and quickly leveled up the set. Bellis played defensive though and was ultimately able to take the first set 6-3 in 48 minutes. In the second set with the crowd clearly behind her, Bellis took a early 3-0 lead. She was able to convert four out of eight break points and quickly closed out the match in just under a hour and a
half.

The two first played each other in 2014, and were tied at one match a piece with Bellis taking the  most recent meeting in 2015.

Bellis is currently ranked No. 231 in the world. Bellis made international headlines at the 2014  US Open with her first-round upset of No. 12 seed and reigning Australian Open finalist Dominika  Cibulkova. With the victory, Bellis, then 15, became the youngest female player to win a main draw  match at the US Open since Anna Kournikova in 1996.

Following the 2014 US Open, Bellis won the first USTA Pro Circuit singles titles of her career at $25,000 events in Rock Hill, S.C., and Florence, S.C. She added a third singles title in 2015 at the $25,000 event in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. and reached the quarterfinals of the Carlsbad Classic this past November.

Bellis will now play the winner of wild card Robin Anderson and qualifier Michaela Gordon in the second round. In the meantime, she will also take to the court in doubles as she pairs up with fellow American Ingrid Neel. They will face off against Samantha Crawford and Sharon Fichman.

Dow Corning Tennis Classic
A USTA Pro Circuit Event

Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Greater Midland Tennis Center
Midland, Mich.
Purse: $100,000
Surface: Hard-Indoor
Tuesday, February 2 – RESULTS

Singles – First round
Louisa Chirico (8), United States, d. Grace Min, United States, 6-3, 6-2,
Jovana Jaksic, Serbia, d. Kristie Ahn, United States, 6-4, 7-6(5),
Catherine Bellis, United States, d. Tatjana Maria (2), Germany, 7-5, 6-3,
Veronica Cepede Ryog, Paraguay, d. WC-Taylor Townsend, United States, 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-3,
Mayo Hibi, Japan, d. Riko Sawayanagi, Japan, 6-1, 6-1.

Doubles – First round
Asia Muhammad and Maria Sanchez (1), United States, d. WC-Jennifer Brady and Louisa Chirico,
United States, 6-4, 6-2,
Lauren Davis and Grace Min, United States, d. Riko Sawayanagi, Japan, and Emily Webley-Smith
(4), Great Britain, 6-2, 4-6, 10-8,
Nicole Gibbs and Taylor Townsend (3), United States, d. Julia Boserup and Sanaz Marand, United
States, 7-6(5), 4-6, 12-10,
Ashley Weinhold and Caitlin Whoriskey, United States, d. Madison Brengle and Anna Tatishvili, United
States, 6-3, 5-7, 10-5,
Robin Anderson, United States, and Veronica Cepede Royg, Paraguay, d. WC-Alyvia Jones and Alexandria
Sanford, United States, 6-1, 6-1.

Qualifying Singles – Final round
Lauren Albanese, United States, d. Nicole Vaidisova (1), Czech Republic, 7-6(5), 0-6, 6-4,
Alexandra Sanford, United States, d. Natalia Vikhlyantseva (2), Russia, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4,
Jamie Loeb (8), United States, d. Nadja Gilchrist, United States, 6-1, 6-3,
Michaela Gordon, United States, d. Isabelle Boulais, Canada, 6-0, 6-0.

Wednesday’s February 3 – SCHEDULE
Stadium Court – Starting at 10 a.m.
LL-Nadja Gilchrist vs. Irina Falconi (3)
Not Before 12:00
Lauren Davis (5) vs. Sachia Vickery, followed by
Naomi Broady vs. Nicole Gibbs (6), followed by
WC-Catherine Bellis and Ingrid Neel, vs. Samantha Crawford and Sharon Fichman (possible court
change)
Starting at 19:00
Madison Brengle (1) vs. Asia Muhammad, followed by
Katerina Kramperova and Bernarda Pera, vs. Naoimi Broady and Shelby Rogers

Court 5 – Starting at 10 a.m.
Anna Tatishvili (4) vs. SE-Raveena Kingsley, followed by
Julia Boserup vs. Q-Jamie Loeb, followed by
Maria Sanchez vs. Shelby Rogers, followed by
WC-Robin Anderson vs. Q-Michaela Gordon

Court 3 – Starting at 10 a.m.
Samantha Crawford (7), vs. Alexa Glatch, followed by
Q-Alexandra Sanford vs. Jennifer Brady, followed by
Q-Lauren Albanese vs. Bernarda Pera, followed by
Jacqueline Cako and Sachia Vickery, vs. Jovana Jaksic and Shilin XU

Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.