Daria Kasatkina opened Wednesday’s order of play on the Volvo Car Stadium with a 6-0 6-7(3) 6-2 victory over Monica Puig. In yet another three setter between the pair, it was a huge win for Dasha who had let slip a 6-0 2-0 lead and saved two break points at 2-2 in the decider.

There were a couple of fun interviews after the match for WTA Insider and Tennis Channel. I love Dasha’s sense of humour 😂😂😂

Next up for Kasatkina is… Daria Gavrilova! The Aussie produced one of, if not the best performance of her year with a 6-3 6-1 triumph over Alison Riske. Gavrilova won 11 of the last 12 games and finished with super stats.

Gavrilova spoke after the match about playing Kasatkina in the third round.

Over on Court 3 there was a huge upset as the 18-year-old qualifier, Fanny Stollar knocked out the Indian Wells champion and number four seed, Elena Vesnina, 7-6(7) 7-6(3). Stollar hit 13 aces and saved 15 out of 19 break points faced in a stirring win. By all accounts, it was a superb match.

A video of the match point by @4TheTennis on Twitter… I love that Stollar credited it!

Irina-Camelia Begu won back-to-back matches on the WTA tour for the first time since winning the Florianopolis title in August last year, outlasting Kristina Kucova, 4-6 6-2 7-6(6). The third set tiebreak was a quality affair with Begu hitting big and Kucova absorbing and redirecting pace effectively. Kucova played a stunning point to save a match point but with a return winner, Begu set up a second match point which she took on another gruelling rally.

Displaying dazzling drop shots and gorgeous touch up at the net, Laura Siegemund’s third win of 2017 was a huge one. The German player beat Venus Williams in three hours and two minutes of gripping clay court tennis. Siegemund missed a match point at 6-4 *5-4 *40-30 but then saved two match points herself in the decider with Venus serving at *5-4 *40-15. The second save from Siegemund was on an INCREDIBLE point.

This was a brutal match which was very entertaining for the most part. Siegemund has such a unique game that is perfect for the clay. While i’m not a fan of the gamesmanship, credit to Laura for this win and also the one over Lesia Tsurenko in the first round, spending a total of six hours and 20 minute on the court. Also worth noting a very classy handshake from Venus.

The stats were positive for Siegemund vs. V.Williams. There have already been some lengthy three setters this week!

In the Team Bucie clash, i’m thankful for Lucie winning in straights as I really needed to sleep! Lucie beat Beth, 6-3 6-3 and it was a little closer than the scoreline suggested. Three of the last four games went to deuce with Lucie winning all three. Lucie can always rely on her serve to get her out of some sticky moments and this was another good, solid win, especially after the long match against Varvara Lepchenko on Tuesday.

Wednesday was a day of upsets as Shelby Rogers defeated the number one seed, Madison Keys, 4-6 6-1 6-1. Some super stats from Shelby!

I wasn’t sure about Keys’s recent approach to address all the horrible comments on Twitter but I do commend her for what she’s trying to do and being proactive about this growing issue on social media. Madison explained her approach in All-Access Hour. You go, Madison!

The final match of the day between Caroline Wozniacki and Annika Beck was cancelled because of the impending doom of thunderstorms and lightning. In other matches on Wednesday…

Naomi Osaka beat Zhang Shuai in straight sets for the second time in a month – the Japanese player won, 6-4 6-4 in just 69 minutes.

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni is looking fantastic on the court right now – with her 15th win of the year, the Croatian player reeled off 11 of the last 13 games to beat Mona Barthel, 6-3 6-2.

Kiki Bertens recovered from a double break down in the second set to beat Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-2 7-5, for just her fourth win of the year so far.

Jelena Ostapenko had a good win, beating Maria Sakkari, 6-2 4-6 6-2. Ostapenko had lost five of her last six matches that had gone the distance.

Anastasija Sevastova won her first match since Dubai, beating Andrea Petkovic, 6-3 6-4. Petkovic required a medical time-out in the second set for a knee issue. Fingers crossed it’s nothing serious for Petko!

Ons Jabeur continued her excellent year with a 19th victory of the year, edging Magda Linette, 6-4 6-4.

In the OMG result of the day, Anastasia Rodionova beat Sara Errani, 6-2 6-2 in 61 (!) minutes. Errani won 13 out of 43 points on serve and held just once. An. Rodionova has won back-to-back WTA main draw matches for the first time in five years, since Charleston 2012!

A pair of podcasts wrapping up All Access Hour in Charleston which are well worth a listen…

Firstly, thoughts from Elena Vesnina who talked in depth about her triumph in Indian Wells. I must say, Elena is a delight to listen to.

And a heads up to The Body Serve Podcast with coverage of Venus’s roundtable interview and snippets from Sam Stosur and Madison Keys too. Compared to press days from other tournaments, you get a sense that the players are very relaxed in Charleston.

Thursday is my tennis day so i’m not sure if there will be anything up until Friday evening. To make up for it, here’s a snappy preview for Dasha squared on Thursday!

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