London | WTA Roundup – Watson in action in Thailand

Hua Hin | WTA 250 Thailand Open presented by E@

Britain’s Heather Watson, who dropped her first set but rallied to upset No 2 seed Yulia Putintseva from Kazakhstan, 5-7 6-4 7-6(5) in the 1st-round of the Thailand Open on Tuesday in Hua Hin, plays for a place in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

I feel like I’m in a really good place this week. When I’m really happy with the environment I’m in I usually get good results. Heather Watson

Watson led the final set of the 3-hour marathon, 5-3, before Putintseva charged back to force the tiebreak, in which the Brit jumped ahead 5-1, before the Kazakh rattled off 4 straight points to level it.

The British No 6 prevailed, though, breaking Putintseva’s serve and winning on the following point.

“I feel like I’m in a really good place this week,” she said. “When I’m really happy with the environment I’m in I usually get good results.”

Watson plays Na-Lee Han from Korea on Thursday.

Looking to reach the semi-finals, Zidansek will now play Zhu.

Top seed Bianca Andreescu started her campaign on Tuesday with a straight-sets win over Harriet Dart, 6-3 6-4, and was content with the result.

“I think I played really well,” the Canadian said. “In the second set, I felt like I lost my concentration just a little bit.

“Waiting around all day isn’t fun. So I was a bit tired but I’m super glad that I bounced back and was able to finish the match.”

It was a good start against Dart but also some careless play in the second set. She was up 5-1 but allowed Dart to come back to 5-4 before Andreescu broke her one final time to win the match.

Her next match is against Russian youngster Zakharova.

On Wednesday, 4th-seeded Anna Kalinskaya of Russia fell to Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, 0-6 7-6(3) 4-6, who advances to the quarter-finals after the 2 hour 24 minute encounter,

Next up for the World No 136 will be either fellow countrywoman, Dayana Yastremska or 6th seed Tatjana Maria from Germany.

7th-seed Xinyu Wang of China rolled to a 6-3 6-3 win over Sweden’s Mirjam Bjorklund, while her countrywoman Lin Zhu defeated South Korean Su-Jeong Jang, 6-4 7-6(6).

The South Korean served for the second set at 5-4 but failed to bring up match points.

Also advancing was Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia, a 6-3 4-6 6-4 winner over Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova, the 8th seed.

The Slovenian advanced after 2 hours and 57 minutes, as Fruhvirtova’s 7 double-faults contributed to the result.

The teenager won 56% of her first-serve points to her opponent’s 52%, but Zidansek won 65% points on return on Fruhvirtova’s second serve while winning 47% of her second-serve points.

Both players faced 18 break points each, but Zidansek went on to save 12 of these while converting 8.

Top seed Caroline Garcia is playing at home in Lyon, France

Lyon | WTA 250 Open 6éme Sens Métropole de Lyon

Top seed Caroline Garcia saw off Czech Tereza Martincova, 6-4 7-6(4) to advance to the 2nd-round at the Lyon Open at the Palais des Sports de Gerland on Tuesday and next faces Alison Van Uytvanck from Belgium, who beat German Tamara Korpatch, 6-2 6-4, on Wednesday.

The Frenchwoman saw 2 match points come and go before they traded 3 mini-breaks to draw level at 4-4 in the tiebreak when Garcia broke through and won the final 3 points to take the match.

“Every match is tough,” Garcia said. “I did not play very well at some stages of the match, but I managed to stay focused and aggressive.

“I don’t want to think about the pressure, but I focus on tennis. I am grateful to play in my home city Lyon. My family and friends came to support me. I want to share this moment with them. It was a pleasure to enjoy this atmosphere in my home tournament.

“I am focused on this tournament but it was not easy to bounce back from the disappointment at the Australian Open. I was not able to convert the opportunities I had,” she added.

On Wednesday, Alycia Parks reached the quarter-finals with a 2-6 7-6(3) 6-2 win over 4th seed Petra Martic from Croatia, the 22-year-old American needing 2 hours and 23 minutes to produce the upset.

Parks pulled off a spectacular lob ‘tweener’ with her back to the court to hold serve for 3-2 in the 5th game of the second set.

Both made 5 double-faults each but Parks finished the match with 12 aces, which was three times as many as the Croatian’s 4.

Looking to reach the semi-finals of a WTA event for the first time, Parks will face either seventh seed Danka Kovinic or Anna Bondar, who play on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Czech teenager Linda Noskova ousted Egyptian 6th seed Mayar Sherif, 6-3 6-2, in 68 minutes.

The Czech won 72% of her first-serve points to the Egyptian’s 48%, and saved all 3 break points she faced, while she also converted 4 of the 6 break points that came her way on Sherif’s serve.

Noskova will now play Camila Osorio after the Colombian defeated Germany’s Jule Niemeier in two tight sets, 7-6(5) 7-5, after 2 hours and 3 minutes to reach the quarters.