Google News Jasmin Open: Jasmine Paolini headlines the player field in the last-eight in Monastir
by ABBEY JOHNSON
Jasmine Paolini posted a win in the second round of the Jasmin Open on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals. The Italian needed three sets to wrap up a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win over Petra Marcinko. The match finished just three minutes before two hours.
Marcinko, who received a wildcard to play in the main draw here in the Tunisian event this week, made a strong return into the match in the second set to push the match into the decider. In that set, while she won 54% of her first-serve points to Paolini’s 58%, she was able to do quite well when it came to winning second-serve points – both on her serve and on return, on Paolini’s serve.
In the second set, Marcinko lost just three points of 11 played on her second serve. She also won six of eight points on return on Paolini’s second serve. For Paolini, despite the disappointment in the second set, her own comeback into the match proved to be the most effective as she rode the momentum all the way to the win.
In the third set, the newly-ascended world no. 30 did lose her serve once. But she won 69% of her first-serve points to her rival’s 57% and won 12 of 17 points on return on the Croatian’s second serve. A derby against Lucia Bronzetti awaits Paolini in the quarters.
Jasmin Open: No upsets waylay seeds
The only match not featuring seeds was that the one played between Katarina Zavatska and Nuria Parrizas Diaz. The Spaniard defeated the Ukrainian 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and 35 minutes.
The last two matches featured seeds both of whom made they way into the quarter-finals of the Jasmin Open. Zavatska’s compatriot, Lesia Tsurenko, the fourth seed took an hour and 48 minutes to post a straight-sets win over Claire Liu, 6-1, 7-5.
Eighth seed from France, Clara Burel, meanwhile got past Erika Andreeva 6-0, 5-7, 7-6(2) after two hours and 36 minutes of play.