WTA Stoccarda: Errani supera le qualificazioni e si unisce a Paolini per il doppio
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The first round of the “Porsche Tennis Grand Prix”, a WTA 500 tournament held in Stuttgart, will feature an all-Italian matchup. Sara Errani, who advanced from the qualifiers, won a three-set battle (7-6 3-6 6-2) against Russian player Anna Kalinskaya to secure a spot in the main draw. The 36-year-old from Massa Lombarda will face her doubles partner Jasmine Paolini in the first round of the tournament.
Errani, the fifth seed in the qualifiers, managed to defeat Kalinskaya after over two hours and twenty minutes of play. Sara showed great resilience in the match, saving six set points (2 in the tenth game and 4 in a row in the tie-break) to claim victory. This win was a sweet revenge for Errani, who had lost to the 25-year-old Russian player in the qualifiers of the Australian Open 2020.
Paolini has won their previous encounter in three sets, which took place during the qualifiers in Bogota in 2019. The winner of this second round match will face either Russian player Ekaterina Alexandrova, ranked 16th in the WTA, or Tunisian player Ons Jabeur, ranked 9th in the WTA.
The top seeds in the tournament are Polish player Iga Swiatek and Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka, who are ranked 1st and 2nd respectively. The two players have competed for the title in the past two editions, with Swiatek emerging victorious both times. Other notable matches in the qualifiers included Diana Shnaider defeating Sara Bejlek to set up a match with Paula Badosa, and Sachia Vickery overcoming Greet Minnen to face Aliaksandra Sasnovich next.
In the Open Rouen Métropole qualifiers, a WTA 250 event, Polina Kudermetova and Fiona Ferro advanced to the main draw with victories over their opponents. Ukrainian player Katarina Zavatska also secured a spot in the main draw by defeating the top seed Mandlik.