San Diego Open: Fifth seed Maria Sakkari eliminated; Daria Kasatkina and Karolina Pliskova move on to the next round

Vekic fought back from a 5-3 down deficit in the opening set to secure her first top-10 win in the year. The world's number 77 was a top 20 player who qualified for the WTA 500 event and hasn't dropped a set.

Sakkari and Vekic have a close friendship off the court, and the Croatian attributed her slow start in the match to their bond that goes back to 2016. 

"I think we were both really nervous at the beginning, so it was a lot of everything from the start," remarked Vekic, "But I managed to calm down a little bit and I found my zone in the second set."

Both players secured 19 wins in the 96-minute-long match, but Vekic consistently outran her opponent. She made 13 unforced errors to Sakkari's 22 and won five of the six break points she received.

Sakkari broke serve just three times despite creating seven chances. The last time Vekic had a top-10 victory at the Tokyo Olympics was the previous summer when she bore Aryna Sabalenka. Currently, the player has nine career wins against the top 10 players.

Karolina Pliskova fights back to enter the next round

Karolina Pliskova resurfaces to thrash Caroline Dolehide after a disappointing loss last week to American qualifier Alycia Parks. The former world's number one and two-time major finalist defeated Caroline Dolehide to enter the main draw. 

Dolehide had dispatched qualifying seeds Madison Brengle and Jil Teichmann before the match. Pliskova took a 6-3, 6-4 win in 82 minutes to advance to a second-round encounter against Vekic. 

Pliskova will enter the next match with a 6-1 head-to-head lead over Vekic. 

Daria Kasatkina bags comprehensive opening round win at San Diego

Daria Kasatkina put an end to Leylah Annie Fernandez's attempts to make a successful comeback with a 6-2 6-2 thrashing of the latter. 

Fernandez had skipped the US Open and struggled to tap into a suitable form on the court. She started slow and never managed to catch up.

Kasatkina called the shots throughout the match. 

She prompted Fernandez to take more hits, and the Canadian couldn't time her responses well. After the ankle injury, her game looked disoriented.

Kasatkina is known for her strong defensive skills and the ability to play long rallies. Fernandez didn't stand a chance against her, so it only took Kasatkina an hour to register a 6-2 6-2 victory.

The Canadian will now prepare for the Guadalajara ahead of the WTA 1000 event. She secured two title wins on Mexican soil in the past.