Petra Martic cruised to an emphatic 6-0 6-3 victory over Alison Van Uytvanck in the first round of the Palermo Ladies Open to get her return to competitive action off to an ideal start.
The Croatian, 29, is the top seed at the event and, in her pre-tournament interview, she seemed to relish the opportunity to return to the tennis court.
“It’s been so long without tennis, without competition, without the adrenaline that we all kind of love,” Martic said. “So I’m just going to try to enjoy myself. To be back on the court right now is really just a privilege without thinking about any results or any goals or focused on numbers or anything else.”
The Croatian may not be thinking about numbers, but hers were impressive today. She won 71% of all points behind her serve and 49% when returning serve. Furthermore, she broke Van Uytvanck four times and looked in complete control throughout the match, which lasted just 67 minutes.
“I’m really happy with today’s performance,” Martic said in her on-court interview. “I played better than expected. I tried to go out with no expectations because nobody played for five months.”
The Croatian was also asked whether she thinks surprising results are more likely considering everyone is short on match practice. She replied, “I don’t think that’s something new. It’s been like that for a long time in women’s tennis. Anyone can win on a given day.”
Having beaten the World No.57, Martic will now face the World No.119: Liudmila Samsonova. The young Russian came through qualifying and then stunned veteran Kirsten Flipkens in the first round.
Kontaveit progresses to Last 16
In the last match of the day, fourth seed Annet Kontaveit booked her place in the second round with a 6-3 6-3 win over Patricia Maria Tig.
While the score line may look comfortable, the Estonian had to work hard to overcome a determined display from the Romanian. In the end, victory took 106 minutes to complete.
“It was really exciting to play my first match,” Kontaveit said in her on-court interview. “It was great to step back on court and play a WTA tournament.”
She continued, “It was very competitive. I think I played important points quite well. There are things I could have done better but I’m pretty happy.”
The Estonian’s reward is a last-16 clash with Laura Siegemund. The German, ranked 63, is often a tricky opponent, and Kontaveit should be particularly wary of her capabilities on clay as it is her favourite surface.
Five seeded players are safely through to the second round at the Palermo Ladies Open. But the fifth seed Elise Mertens is not one of them. She suffered a disappointing 6-4 6-1 loss to World No.110 Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
