Sara Sorribes has started her season with a great victory against Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in a ‘marathon’ match in which the Castellón knows how to perform well, as shown by her victory today by 6-4, 5-7 and 6-3 after three hours and seven minutes of battle.
In the first set Sorribes managed to break Haddad Maia’s serve on the first occasion he had to reach 3-0 in favor. However, the Brazilian managed two consecutive breaks to equalize the contest again, although in the tenth game Sorribes took advantage of the first set point that the rest had to close the sleeve 6-4.
The second round was again a true carousel of breaks with constant alternation of break between both players until Haddad Maia scored her fourth break in this heat in the eleventh game to close the set with her serve 7-5 after one hour and 15 minutes into the set.
In the third and final, Sorribes once again showed off his aggressiveness to the rest and took advantage of Haddad Maia’s mistakes to break his serve twice. Sorribes had a serve to close the game, but the Brazilian avoided it in the first with a break, although she could not in the second, when the Spanish took the set and the match 6-3 to seal his pass to the next round in Melbourne, where he will face Greet Minnen or Kamilla Rakhimova.
In the rest of the matches of the day, the Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu gave the big surprise after defeating the great favorite Jessica Pegula in straight sets by 7-6 (4) and 6-3. Those who did not fail were the Romanian Sorana Cirstea (double 6-0 to Varvara Gracheva) and the Danish Clara Tauson (7-5 and 6-3 to Anhelina Kalinina).
Osaka regains her smile in Melbourne
In Melbourne Summer Set 1, which is being played simultaneously, Japan’s Naomi Osaka regained her smile after debuting with a victory over Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in two hours of play. Osaka, who had not competed since the last US Open, once again showed off his aggressive tennis on his return to Australia. “The Australian Open may be my favorite Grand Slam, so it’s always nice to come back here.” he assured at a press conference. Osaka will now face Belgian Maryna Zanevska for a place in the quarterfinals, who beat Petra Martic 6-3, 6-4.
In the rest of the matches of the Melbourne Summer Set 1 matchday, German Andrea Petkovic surprised Russian Liudmila Samsonova, fifth favorite, 6-3 and 7-6 (3), while the Russian Vera Zvonareva defeated the American Alison Riske, ninth seeded, by 7-5 and 6-3.
