Day 2 in Charleston: an upset, a thrilling match, foreboding weather, and a first-rate photo bomb

Zheng Qinwen (photo by Daniel Ward)

On the second day of the Credit One Charleston Open, 2016 champion Sloane Stephens lost her first-round match to Zheng Qinwen, who--in defeating Stephens 6-3, 4-6, 6-0--earned the first top 50 win of her career. It briefly rained during the match, so the players had to deal with a 30-minute delay.

Earlier, 10th seed Belinda Bencic had to resort to using every shot she could think of in order to hold off Wang Xiyu, who threw everything she had at the Swiss star--and then some. In fact, Wang came within two points of upsetting Bencic, who--after almost two and a half hours--ended the match with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 victory. Both players served well, and both put on a show of athleticism and shot-making that thrilled the crowd. 

Belinda Bencic (photo by Daniel Ward)

Bencic's next opponent will be Czech teen star Linda Fruhvirtova.

Also winning today was Emma Navarro, who advanced when Madison Brengle retired at 0-3 in the third round. Also winning today were Alison Riske, Yulia Putintseva, Coco Vandeweghe, Lauren Davis, Magda Linette (who saved a match point), and Hailey Baptiste. 

Wang Xiyu (photo by Daniel Ward)

After her match, Baptiste did an interview with Pam Shriver in which she named a list of shots (almost all of them), and said that she wants to play like a man because men are better at making these shots.

Though there was little rain today, the night matches were canceled because of impending bad weather.

And--news from yesterday: Defending champion Veronika Kudermetova had to withdraw from the tournament because of illness, and Petra Kvitova had to retire in her opening round because of a left thigh injury. Also, Alize Cornet won her opening match, as did Amanda Anisimova. 

Finally, Emma Navarro had a press conference after her match today, and--while she had several worthy things to say--Major Tom was having none of it:

photo by Diane Elayne Dees