Donna Vekic lost in the first round of the WTA 250 Hamburg European Open

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).