Olympian Genie Bouchard of Canada had no problems in her opening round match at the Connecticut Open on Monday.
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Kvitova, the sixth seed, rebounded to beat qualifier Louisa Chirico of Westchester, N.Y., 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Victor of four consecutive titles in New Haven from 2008 to 2011 – a haul only matched by Venus Williams in 1999-2002 – Wozniacki suffered a shock 7-5 6-2 defeat to Latvian teenager Ostapenko.
The key moment on Monday came in the first set when Wozniacki was up 5-3 and serving for the set.
Top-seeded and No. 5 ranked Agnieszka Radwanska would be ready to roll and the prospects of squaring off against long-time friend Caroline Wozniacki would have been something special for Radwanska as well as a treat for tournament organizers likely still reeling after the withdrawal of four seeded players.
Against Wozniacki, Ostapenko staved off a set point in the first set, won four straight games to close out the set and never looked back. “I was just trying to keep my serve and play the way I can on her serve, wait for my chances”.
“After that, the match turned the other way”, Ostapenko said of her service breaks. “The thought was there, but the execution wasn’t there”, Wozniacki said.
“It’s frustrating when you practice well and can’t really execute in the matches”. “It has been a real weird year for me, something I am not used to”. “I know they are really good players and I have to show that I play in this way”.
The 20th-ranked Vesnina arrived in New Haven on the heels of a doubles gold medal at the Rio Olympics with Ekaterina Makarova.
Bouchard defeated Annika Beck in under an hour, 6-2, 6-1. Instead, Radwanska, ranked No.5, will face Ostapenko, 19, who reached the final at Doha in February and won the Wimbledon junior girls tournament in 2014.
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In other matches on Monday, Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia, Caroline Garcia of France, Evgeniya Rodina of Russia, Annet Kontaveit of Estonia and Ana Konjuh of Croatia all advanced to the second round.
