Sakkari, Vekic lose in 2nd round at grass-court Nottingham Open as seeds tumble

NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — Top-seeded Maria Sakkari and former champion Donna Vekic were eliminated from the grass-court Nottingham Open at the last-16 stage. Sakkari was beaten 6-1, 6-4 by Alize Cornet and fourth-seeded Vekic lost Viktorija Golubic 6-4, 6-1. Vekic was the winner of the event in 2017 and the runner-up in ’19. Defending champion and second-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia was defeated by lucky loser Daria Snigur 6-4, 6-3 in the first round on Tuesday. Another seed to fall in the second round was Lin Zhu. She lost 6-2, 6-4 to Magdalena Frech. Lin was the eighth seed at the Wimbledon warmup event.