Quebec’s Leila Annie Fernandez succumbed in her first match at the Italian Open, where she was defeated by Belarusian Aleksandra Sasnovich 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3.
Fernandez led 3-0 in the final round, but watched her opponent turn things around and win after a duel that lasted two hours and 37 minutes.
Lavalloise ranked at number 50H In the world he had also lost in the first round in his previous match at the Madrid Open.
Tuesday, both Fernandez and Sasnovich, 44H World racket, victims of five service interruptions during their encounter.
In the next round, Sasnovich will face the Croatian and 21H Classified Donna Vekic.
Earlier today, Barbora Strycova won her first match since maternity leave, defeating Marina Zaniewska 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
The 37-year-old returned to the WTA tournament two weeks ago as part of the Madrid Open, after an absence of more than two years due to the birth of her son Vincent. After Zanevska was sent off, Strycova hugged her 1-year-old son and told him to “hello dad in the stands” in front of a TV camera.
In Madrid, Strycova lost in the first round of the singles tournament before reaching the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament with her playing partner Hsieh Su-wei.
Strycova, who next faces ninth seed Maria Sakkari in Rome, plans to announce her retirement after the US Open later this year.
Elsewhere, on the clay courts of Foro Italiaco, Anna Blinkova came from behind to defeat Mayar Sharif 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. Sherif had just made a name for himself by reaching the quarter-finals of the Madrid tournament.
Nuria Barrezas Dias also defeated Jules Niemeyer in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova defeated Kaia Kanepi 6-0 4-6 6-2 to earn a date with Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu.
Sofia Kenin, Katie McNally, Annette Kontaveit, Wang Shiyu, Linda Noscova, Jasmine Paolini and Lisa Pigato advanced in the first round.
On the men’s side, the standouts will undoubtedly be Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime will also be one to watch.
The men’s section will start on Wednesday.
Just like in Madrid, Roma will count on a growing main draw of 96 players, both men’s and women’s ranks.
Strycova and Hsieh are also set to compete in the Romanian doubles championship, a competition they won in 2020.
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