Monday at the Hall of Fame Open saw sporadic rain and humid conditions in Newport, Rhode Island. After a half hour delay to the commencement of the first matches, rain came again during the middle those contests. The 11:00 am starts didn’t conclude until 4 hours later.
Destanee Aiava was the first winner of a meaningful main draw women’s match in Newport for the first time in 30 years as the WTA made its triumphant return to Rhode Island. Aiava survived the rain delays and her opponent, Emina Bektas, 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(5).
After the match, she noted that she “was so angry” at herself in the first and that she knew if she “could just keep fighting after the first rain delay,” things would work out. She also was notably quoted as admiring the beauty of the grounds of the Hall of Fame and that “every other 125 I’ve played was terrible.”
On the men’s side, Eliot Spizziri of Connecticut was the first man to advance to the 2nd round with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Evan Zhu.
With some matches canceled due to darkness, 24 matches will be on tap today on all 6 play courts–and an excellent weather forecast.
Tennis Atlantic 
Return Serve?