Google News Hungarian Grand Prix: Diana Shnaider ousts defending titlist, Bernarda Pera in opener
by ABBEY JOHNSON
Diana Shnaider posted the biggest upset of the Hungarian Grand Prix on Tuesday. The 19-year-old ousted top-seeded American Bernarda Pera in their first-round match-up. Shnaider won 6-4, 7-5 against the 2022 champion here, after two hours of play.
The world no. 110 won 61% of her first-serve points to her higher-ranked opponent’s 52%. The 27th-ranked Pera, however, fared slightly better when it came to winning second-serve points. She won 50% of her second-serve points to her rival’s 48%.
Both players combined to create 20 break points. Shnaider saved seven of the 11 break points she faced while converting three of the nine break points that came her way on Pera’s serve. In the second round, Shnaider will play Maria Timofeeva.
The 246th-ranked Tomofeeva made it to the main draw as a lucky loser and in the first round, defeated Daria Saville, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 after two hours and 47 minutes of play.
Hungarian Grand Prix: Shuai Zhang's misery continues
Fourth seed Yulia Putintseva also made it to the second round after beating Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Volodko.
The Kazakh dropped the first set 6-1 but recovered well in time to beat the world no. 183, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1. Putintseva saved seven break points and went on to convert five break points on her 36-year-old rival’s serve. Nadia Podoroska, the ninth seed, also advanced to the next round in the Hungarian capital.
The Argentine needed an hour and 51 minutes to take a comeback win against Australian Storm Hunter. Podoroska finished the match with a 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 win. The 26-year-old faced five break points in the match and saved two of these.
All five break points, however, came in the first set. In the next round, Podoroska will play Czech qualifier Anna Siskova. Siskova beat Evgeniya Rodina 6-3, 6-0 in their first-round match. Tuesday also saw a huge controversy at the Hungarian Grand Prix in the round-of-32 between local wildcard Amarissa Toth and second seed Shuai Zhang.
In the first set after Zhang’s shot was called out and as she was discussing with the umpire to have a look at it, Toth went and erased the ball mark in a gesture of poor sportsmanship. The incident caused Zhang to have a panic attack and she was forced to quit the match midway because of it.
