Palermo Ladies Open: Kaja Juvan upsets Marketa Vondrousova in first round; Petra Martic beats Alison Van Uytvanck

Palermo: Slovenian qualifier Kaja Juvan upset second-seeded Markéta Vondroušová of the Czech Republic 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 on Tuesday in the first round of the Palermo Ladies Open, the first official tennis tournament since March. Vondroušová won the first set in just 29 minutes and then came from 4-0 down in the second to take a 5-4 lead and was just two points away from winning the match before Juvan recovered. Juvan took another 4-0 lead in the third set and secured the match when Vondroušová hit a forehand into the net. It was her first career win against a top-20 ranked opponent. “She started off really well and I was a little bit nervous, she’s my first top-20 player,” Juvan said in a video conference. “The conditions were really hard but in the second and third set I calmed myself and I started playing much better.” The WTA tournament marks the return of tour-level tennis — men’s or women’s — following a five-month break for the coronavirus pandemic. A limited number of fans were allowed into the 1,500-seat stadium court and had to follow social distancing measures. There are also strict rules for the players, such as handling their own towels, not shaking hands with their opponents, and no autographs or photos with fans. Juvan was spoken to by the umpire after throwing items including her visor and wristbands to the crowd. “Obviously we get tested a lot so I understand their concern but it was actually like an instinct,” Juvan said. “All of us that are here are negative and so I was like ‘well I got the result again today’ so I thought I might as well give it to them. Yeah, maybe I won’t do it the next few days.” Juvan will next face Camila Giorgi, who became the fourth Italian to progress to the second round after beating Rebecca Peterson 7-5, 6-4. Sara Errani, Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Jasmine Paolini won their first-round matches on Monday. Top-seeded Petra Martić eased into the second round with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Alison Van Uytvanck. The Croatian will face Russian qualifier Ludmilla Samsonova, who beat Kirsten Flipkens 6-4, 6-2. “It’s been such a long break and I don’t think anyone knows what to expect when the real match comes," Martić said. “I really just tried to focus on my own game and tried to enjoy the fact that we are back on court again and I think I managed both.” Fourth-seeded Anett Kontaveit is also through after recovering from 3-0 down in the second set to defeat Patricia Maria Țig 6-3, 6-3. But fifth-seeded Elise Mertens lost 6-4, 6-1 to Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who will next play Paolini. Lucky loser Océane Dodin rallied from a set down to beat Tamara Zidanšek 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, and Fiona Ferro triumphed 6-2, 6-1 over Nadia Podoroska.