Great Britain`s Sonay Kartal has successfully navigated her opening match at the Italian Open in Rome, coming from a set down to reach the second round. She defeated Australia`s Kimberly Birrell with a final score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in their first-round encounter.
The 23-year-old Kartal, currently ranked 56th in the world and Britain`s number three player, is now scheduled to face Czech Republic`s Linda Noskova, who holds the world number 30 ranking. This tournament marks Kartal`s first WTA tour event of the current year; she claimed her only WTA title to date at the Jasmin Open in Tunisia last year.
In the men`s competition, Cameron Norrie has entered the main draw as a `lucky loser`, securing his spot despite a defeat in the final round of qualifying.
Norrie was beaten by Serbia`s Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. He struggled in the opening set but managed to recover and take the second, before losing the deciding set. However, he received a fortunate reprieve and a second opportunity in Rome, being named among the three lucky losers from qualifying, alongside Pablo Carreno Busta and Jesper de Jong. Norrie is set to play Australia`s Christopher O`Connell in his first main draw match.
Additional Tournament Highlights
Elsewhere on Tuesday, two-time former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova recorded her first victory since returning to tennis after a 15-month absence following the birth of her first child.
The Czech player made her return in late February but had lost all four matches played prior to her win against Romania`s Irina-Camelia Begu, which she won 7-5, 6-1.
Kvitova later admitted she was very close to quitting tennis entirely before her break. “I was 95 per cent that I would never come back. I had enough of tennis at that time,” she commented, adding, “`I was like, `I can`t do it any more` – so we decided to try for a baby.”
Kvitova`s next opponent in the second round at Foro Italico will be Tunisia`s world number 36, Ons Jabeur.
Other players who secured opening wins in the women`s draw include Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Marie Bouzkova, Lucia Bronzetti, Jaqueline Cristian, Suzan Lamens, Rebecca Sramkova, Peyton Stearns, and Lulu Sun.
