May 31, 2019 – The incredible Petra Martić and Donna Vekić advanced to the Roland Garros round of 16, reports HTS.
What a victory for Petra Martić in the 3rd round of Roland Garros! Martić sensationally defeated the second-seed of the tournament, Czech player Karolína Plíšková with a convincing 6:3, 6:3. It was her 14th victory this season on clay.
In the first set the result was leveled to 3:3, though Petra went on to win the next five games (and took the service of her rival three times) and reached 2:0 in the second set. Pliškova then won three consecutive games and it seemed that the favored Czech would still find a way to turnaround and win. However, Petra again lifted the level of the game and with a fantastic series came to great success and her third time in the round of 16 at a Grand Slam tournament (2012, 2017). With this win, Petra has jumped to 27th place on the WTA list, which is her best career ranking. Petra will play Kai Kanepi in the round of 16 on Sunday.
But that’s not all.
Croatian tennis will have two representatives in the round of 16 at this year’s Roland Garros after Donna Vekić surprisingly overcame Swiss player Belinda Bencic (WTA-15) – 6:4, 6:1.
From the start of the match, the Osijek native had the lead – first at 3:0, then later 4:2, though Bencic managed to equalize at 4:4. Donna took the first set after a break, and after losing the first game of the second set, she won six consecutive games to make her second pass into the top 16 of a Grand Slam tournament. Recall, Vekić made it to the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2018.
Vekić hit eight aces with 64 percent of her first service and used six out of a total of nine break-points. In the round of 16, Vekić will play against the winner of the Konta – Kuzmova match. Vekić reached a new career ranking after the win and is currently the 20th best female tennis player in the world.
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