Australian Open semi-finalist Madison Keys was bundled out of the Abierto Akron Zapopan in Guadalajara on Monday after a shock three-set loss to Harmony Tan.
Frenchwoman Tan, who is ranked outside the top 100, toppled the second seed in one hour and 46 minutes, winning 6-4 1-6 6-1.
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In a seesawing battle, Tan's shotmaking and deft touch was a highlight, helping her steady after emphatically dropping the second set, before winning the first five games of the final set.
The win was Tan's first-ever victory against a top 30 player, qualifying her for the second round where she will play China's Wang Qiang who won 6-2 6-1 over Lauren Davis.
No.104 Harmony Tan deploys an entertaining array of shotmaking to defeat No.2 seed Madison Keys 64 16 61 in Guadalajara 1R.
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 22, 2022
The win is the 24yo Frenchwoman’s 1st Top 30 win. She earned her 1st Top 50 win last month at the Australian Open, where she defeated Yulia Putintseva. pic.twitter.com/Bbd2Wp0YCW
American sixth seed Sloane Stephens did not have such problems in her first-round encounter with qualifier Brenda Fruhvirtova, triumphing 6-2 6-2.
The 14-year-old Czech had enjoyed a good qualifying run but was thwarted by the 2017 US Open champion in 58 minutes.
Fruhvirtova had become the youngest player to compete in a WTA Tour main draw match since Keys in April 2009 at Ponte Vedra Beach.
Sloane Stephens after a 62 62 win over Brenda Fruhvirtova @WTAGuadalajara: "1st pro I played was Zvonareva. I got whooped but it was a great experience. She was probably a bit nervous. She's a great player, had great results. Looking forward to see what she does in the future."
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 21, 2022
Fifth seed Nuria Parrizas Diaz bowed out 6-1 6-4 to Slovakia's Ana Karolina Schmiedlova in one hour and 10 minutes. Schmiedlova will face Anastasia Potapova who progressed 6-4 2-2 after Lesia Tsurenko retired.
Japanese seventh seed Misaki Doi also exited, going down 4-6 7-5 6-4 to Marie Bouzkova in the late match, setting up a second-round date with qualifier Lucia Bronzetti who edged American wildcard Caty McNally 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-3.
Zheng Qinwen was another seeded casualty, with the Chinese eighth seed going down 6-3 2-6 6-2 to Anna Kalinskaya.
