There were mixed results for British players at the Zavarovalnica Sava Portoroz on Tuesday as Jodie Burrage joined Emma Raducanu in the 2nd-round, but Harriet Dart fell at the hands of Tereza Martincova.
Dart made the main draw as a lucky loser and had the chance to displace Raducanu, the top seed here in Slovenia, as the British No 1, but her 0-6 6-4 6-1 loss to the Czech means that the 26-year old from Hampstead will have to wait.
Very little separates the two, with Dart ranked No 85 while Raducanu has dropped to 83 following the early end to her defence of the US Open title this year.
The 19-year old advanced to round 2 at the WTA 250 event in Portoroz on Monday night, and will play Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam on Tuesday.
Dart’s 1st-round exit to Martincova was frustrating as she delivered a bagel to her opponent in the opener before going down in 3 sets.
There was better news for Burrage, though, who beat Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic, 6-4 6-4, in the last 16.
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina took over 3 hours to get past Laura Siegemund on Tuesday
Burrage, the British No 5, came through qualifying to make the main draw and triumphed after 76 minutes to reach round 2.
Meanwhile, Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina from Kazakstan needed more than 3 hours to get the better of Laura Siegemund from Germany, 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(8) to set up a meeting with Dart’s conquer Martincova.
Ajla Tomljanovic, though, went down in her first match since the US Open to Ana Bogdan of Romania, who pulled out a 7-5 4-6 6-1 upset win over the 8th seed from Australia.
Tomljanovic was coming off her first US Open quarter-final, having defeated Serena Williams in the 3rd-round in the 40-year old American’s final professional match.
Bogdan overpowered the Aussie with 10 aces and 8 of 12 break points saved.
6th seed Alizé Cornet of France also lost, with Kaja Juvan of Slovenia advancing 7-6(5) 6-3, while Italian Jasmine Paolini also moved into the 2nd-round of the Slovenia Open by beating Croatian qualifier Tara Wurth, 7-5 6-1, at the Tennis Arena Portoroz on Tuesday afternoon.
Paolini, ranked 55, will play Juvan next.
Other winners on Tuesday were Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek, Spain’s Cristina Bucsa, France’s Diane Parry and Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.
The Slovenia Open, or Zavarovalnica Sava Portoroz, is a WTA 250 level tournament that is played on outdoor hard courts.
The tournament was originally established in 2005, held at the Tennis Club Portoroz, and ran until 2010 when it took a hiatus from the tour.
In 2021, the event made its return, offering European players who make an early exit from the US Open to head back over the Atlantic and straight back into competitive play.
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