Donna Vekic was eliminated in the first round of the WTA 250 Hamburg European Open clay tennis tournament with a prize pool of over 225,000 EUR. The top-seeded Croatian lost by 1-2 (6:3, 3:6, 3:6) to Storm Sanders (Australia) in the first round.
In the third set, the Australian made two breaks on the 27-year-old Donna Vekic’s forehand and closed out the match on her second chance after 116 minutes.
Donna Vekic won the first set of the match, but then suffered a reversal after numerous errors.
Storm Sanders, world is world’s No 154, will face wild card Noma Akugue Noha (Germany), who eliminated Laura Pigossi (Brazil) is her opening match by 2-0 (7:5, 6:4).
The 3rd-seeded Bernarda Pera (USA) qualified for the quarterfinals. The American, who is the champion in Hamburg from last season, eliminated Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) by 2-0 (7:6, 6:1). She will face Diana Shnaider (Russia), who eliminated Julia Grabher (Austria) by 2-0 (6:4, 6:2).
Martina Trevisan (Italy) also qualified for the quarter-finals after defeating Camila Osorio (Colombia) by 2-0 (6:1, 6:3).
