The eighth-seeded Paula Badosa (Spain) has overcome the first round of the WTA 500 Ningbo Open hard court tennis tournament in China. The Spanish tennis player defeated the 20-year-old Diana Shnaider (Russia) at the start after a comeback with 2-1 (4:6, 6:3, 6:3). The match lasted two hours and 22 minutes.
Diana Shnaider won the first set after a key break for 6:4, but in the next sets the Spaniard improved her level and equalized the result after a successful 6:3. The rivals exchanged a total of five breaks in the third set. Paula Badosa broke in the first game, but led 3:1 and 5:2 and won the set 6:3.
In the second round, Paula Badosa will face the “wild card” Wang Xiyu (China), who eliminated the qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova (Russia) by 2-0 (6:2, 6:0).
Another Russian tennis player advanced to the second round of the tournament. The 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva, who eliminated the US representative, Varvara Lepchenko, by 2-0 (6:2, 6:0).
Mirra Andreeva’s next opponent will be Tamara Korpatsch (Germany), who defeated Anna Bondar (Hungary) by 2-1 (6:7, 7:6, 6:4).
Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan) also qualified for the second round, beating Caroline Dolehide (USA) by 2-0 (6:2, 6:0).
