Arantxa Rus booked a handsome victory on Tuesday in the opening round of the WTA tournament in Rome. The Dutch was too strong for Iga Swiatek from Poland on the Italian clay in two sets.
After a match of more than two hours, there was 7-6 (5) and 6-3 on the scoreboard against the number 52 in the world. In the second set, Rus, herself the global number 71, hit her third match point.
The 29-year-old Russian is working on a strong series after the interruption due to the corona crisis, with the exception of her quick elimination at the US Open. The Delft player recently reached Cincinnati and recorded her seventh victory in eleven matches against Swiatek.
Rus qualified for the main tournament in Rome via the qualifications and faces Markéta Vondrousová in the second round. The Czech is placed twelfth and occupies nineteenth place on the WTA ranking.
Later in the day, Rus comes into action together with Kiki Bertens during the first round of the doubles. For Bertens, this is a warm-up in the run-up to her participation in the singles, in which she will play for the first time on Wednesday.
The tournament in Rome applies to many tennis players in preparation for Roland Garros, which was postponed due to the corona crisis and starts next week.
– .
