Qualifiers Juvan, Sasnovich stun opponents at Palermo Day 2

Today’s recap of the Palermo Ladies Open takes a look at Day 2, where two qualifiers, Kaja Juvan and Aliaksandra Sasnovich had career-best wins.

Day 2 of the Palermo Ladies Open completed the last remaining matches of the Round of 32. Outside of two three-set bouts that finished right around the two and a half hour mark, the first round finished without much competition.

Leading off the day was Oceane Dodin, who advanced to the Round of 16 with a win over Tamara Zidansek in a 2-hour, 26-minute three-setter that saw both girls commit seven double faults. Dodin got off to a rough start, totaling four double faults on her way to a 6-2 first set loss. She failed to save any of the three break points she faced and only won 3 of 14 points on her second serve, compared to 7-of-11 from Zidansek in the opening set.

Dodin’s serve improved slightly in the following set but it was her return of serve that was able to keep her in the match. She ripped through Zidansek’s first serve, winning 4 of 8 break points 56% of points off of her opponent’s first-serve points. Dodin took the set 6-4 and carried her momentum into the deciding third set.

Her serve finally took form for the first time in the match; she didn’t commit a single double fault and served up four of her five aces in this final set. She also won 83.3% of her first serve points that set (one of the highest single set totals so far in the tournament). She held in all five of her service games and only needed one break of serve to win the match. She took the final set 6-4 and will move on to face 7th-seeded Dayana Yastremska in the Round of 16.

Match of the Day

Qualifier Kaja Juvan wasn’t expected to get past the first round here in Palermo after faced three tough qualifying rounds to secure her spot in the main draw. The 19-year-old’s chances only got worse as she drew Marketa Vondrousova, the #2 seed in the tournament and last year’s French Open finalist.

The match began as expected as the World #18 raced out to a 6-1 first set win. Vondrousova was firing off winners left and right, playing aggressive tennis on her way to three breaks of serve. She was placing her groundstrokes very well, pushing the teenager on her heels. This led her to finish the set with 71.7% of her first-serve points won (8-of-11). She kept her service games short and looked to be on her way to a routine win.

Juvan grit under pressure started to finally shine through in the second set. She got off to a 4-0 start in the second set. The momentum had suddenly shifted. As the Sicilian wind picked up, her aggressiveness did with it. Simultaneously, Vondrousova became increasingly passive, playing ineffective drop shots in an attempt to counter the heavy winds that had been pushing her groundstrokes out since the beginning of the set. Juvan’s lead faltered as Vondrousova picked up the next four games but it was ultimately the qualifier who took the second set, edging our her top-20 opponent 7-5 and sealing the deal with an ace to tie up the match at one set apiece.

The third set was equally as tight but certainly didn’t look that way as the set went on. Juvan was playing virtually flawless tennis, mixing in topspin-heavy groundstrokes that kept the 5’6″ Vondrousova well beyond the baseline with low skidding slices to keep her guessing. Despite winning only 11 of 26 points off of her first serve (42.6%) and suffering two breaks of serve, Juvan cleaned it up on the receiving end and was able to break Vondrousova three times on her way to her career-best win.

"“It was pretty windy, so we were both playing pretty safe. I think she took more chances in the first set, and then in the second and third set, I just told myself, go for the ball, play more aggressive, take the ball when it’s going up instead of down,” Juvan said post-match."

It was a fantastic win for Juvan; she’ll gear up to play Camilla Giorgi in the Round of 16.

Other notable results

1. #1-seeded Petra Martic dominated her first-round opponent, Alison Van Uytvanck 6-3 6-0 in just over one hour (1:05).
2. Qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich defeated #5 seed, Elise Mertens, 6-4, 6-1 in 1:23. It was the first seeded player to be defeated in the top half of the draw after two seeded players have fallen so far in the bottom half (Maria Sakkari, Marketa Vondrousova)
3. Camilla Giorgi finishes off an Italian sweep of the first round as she, Sara Errani, and Elisabetta Cocciaretto all moved onto the Round of 16

Day 2 – Full match results

Oceane Dodin def. Tamara Zidansek 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

Aliaksandra Sasnovich def. (5) Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-1

Kaja Juvan def. (2) Marketa Vondrousova 1-6, 7-5, 6-4

Fiona Ferro def. Nadia Podoroska 6-2, 6-1

Ludmilla Samsonova def. Kirsten Flipkens 6-4, 6-2

(1) Petra Martic def. Alison Van Uytvanck 6-3, 6-0

Camila Giorgi def. Rebecca Peterson 7-5, 6-4

(4) Annett Kontaveit def. Patricia Maria Tig 6-3, 6-3

Day 3 (Round of 16) Match Schedule – August 5th

*All matches on Centre Court*

4 pm CEST: (8) Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Fiona Ferro

5:15 pm CEST: Jasmine Paolini vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich

6:30 pm CEST: Sara Errani vs Kristyna Pliskova

7:45 pm CEST: (6) Donna Vekic vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto

The Palermo Ladies Open ends August 9th and will crown the WTA’s first champion since March.