Shocking Upset in Budapest: Top Seed Bernarda Pera Stunned - WTA Roundup

 

Russian Diana Shnaider dominated in the first round of the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, securing a 6-4, 7-5 victory over the top-seeded Bernarda Pera from the United States. Shnaider impressively saved 7 out of 11 break points, thwarting Pera's attempts to gain an advantage, as she couldn't maintain leads of 1-0 and 3-1 in the second set. Moreover, Shnaider displayed exceptional performance by not committing any double faults and registering four aces.

The second seed, China's Shuai Zhang, faced an early exit from the tournament after retiring against Hungarian player Amarissa Toth. Meanwhile, the ninth-seeded Argentine Nadia Podoroska and the fourth-seeded Kazakh Yulia Putintseva both triumphed in challenging three-set battles against unranked opponents.

In other matches at the Palermo Ladies Open, Russian Erika Andreeva staged a remarkable comeback, overcoming a 4-6 deficit in the opening set to defeat the sixth-seeded Italian Lucia Bronzetti in her home country. Andreeva's outstanding performance continued with consecutive 6-0 and 6-2 wins in the following sets. She delivered an impressive seven aces, only facing two double faults, while Bronzetti failed to record any aces and accumulated three double faults.

Sara Sorribes Tormo from Spain secured a hard-fought victory against the fourth-seeded Elisabetta Cocciaretto from Italy, with a final score of 6-3, 4-6, 6-0. On a more positive note for the Italian players, the fifth-seeded Jasmine Paolini managed to avoid an upset, defeating Arantxa Rus from the Netherlands. However, Martina Trevisan, another Italian player, was unable to advance, falling to the top-seeded Daria Kasatkina from Russia in three sets.

Several other players had successful matches, including Colombian Camila Osorio, Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, Russians Tatiana Prozorova and Sofya Lansere, Spaniard Cristina Bucsa, and the third-seeded Egyptian Mayar Sherif. Additionally, the seventh-seeded American Emma Navarro secured her victory in the tournament.