■Aoi Ito, appearing in the WTA tour’s main draw for the first time, came back from a 2-5 deficit in the final set to pull off an upset over Sofia Kenin, who has been ranked as high as fourth in her career. Kenin, whose rhythm was thrown off by Ito's ever-changing play style, lacked precision in her shots and made a series of mistakes, especially in the final stage. Reflecting with her usual easy-going attitude, Ito said, “I entered the match not thinking about winning or anything like that, but at first just wondering if I could win a game. I was lucky, and a lot of factors came together, and somehow I was able to win.”

■She used a lot of slices on her forehand preventing Kenin from increasing the tempo of the rallies. She served well with seven aces. Rather than relying on power or ball speed, she aimed for difficult angles and courses that her opponent would not expect, and she accumulated points. Kenin recovered in the second set, but in the final set, perhaps because she tightened up thinking about winning and seemed to get caught up in Ito's tricks again.

■Ito's goal was to "win two games." The day before, she had heard about Kenin's achievements from those around her, so she set the bar low going into the match. She did not study her opponent through videos or other means, and did not think of specific strategies. “My tennis is unique, so when I play against my opponents, they often stop playing well, so I just tried to play my own game.''

■Ito's play, which mesmerizes her opponents, has an interesting effect. “I saw that she wasn't used to loose balls. I think the reason for my victory was that my shots are not that strong,'' she said uttering her words with the same bluntness that characterizes her game . When asked about her goal for the second round, she answered, “I'm going to win four games. I want to win four games .My goal for the first round was to get two games, so I'm going to get into the groove and win four games.'' It will be interesting to see how long Ito's steady progress will continue, as she showed her own pace both on and off the court having won the first four matches since the qualifying.