Czech tennis player Barbora Strýcová.
Madrid – Tennis player Barbora Strýcová started her farewell tour with a defeat. The former world number one in doubles, who returned to the courts after a maternity break of more than two years, lost to Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretta 3-6, 6-7 in the first round of the clay tournament in Madrid. On the other hand, Karolína Muchová is advancing, having knocked out former world number two Anett Kontaveitová from Estonia twice 6:2. Linda Fruhvirtová beat American Katie Volynetsová 6:3, 7:5.
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“I feel good. Even though I lost, I feel good about it,” said Strýcová for the website TN.cz. “I was competitive. It was a good match after not playing for so long. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, but I managed it well. Even though it didn't end with a win, I'm proud of myself. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed it that. I'm looking forward to the next match,” she added.
37-year-old Strýcová played her last competitive match at the Australian Open in 2021. She ended her career in May of the same year and gave birth to her son Vincent four months later. This February, she announced a short-term comeback, which should culminate at this year's Wimbledon.
Strýcová kept up with Cocciaretta, the 50th player in the world, in the beginning. From the score of 3:3, however, she lost three games in a row and lost the first set in 57 minutes.
In the second set, Strýcová fought back, erased the 0:2 loss right at the start and came back to the match even from an unfavorable situation of 2: 5. In the 12th game, she averted the first match point to force a tie-break. In it, the Czech tennis player erased two more match points, but after more than two hours, Cocciarett already used the fourth opportunity to end the match.
The 22-year-old Italian will challenge the Spaniard Paula Badosa in the next round. Strýcová, who was smiling despite the defeat after the match, will appear in Madrid in doubles next to Xia Shu-wei from Taiwan, with whom she also triumphed at Wimbledon in 2019.
26-year-old Muchová defeated Kontaveitová , who is returning from injury, even in the third match between them. The native of Olomouc broke her opponent's serve five times, only losing her serve at the beginning of the first set. She won the duel in one hour and 22 minutes and will challenge the Romanian Irina Begu in the next round.
“It was my first match on clay and at the beginning I was a little behind. The clay here is a little different than in Prague, where I trained. It is very fast. But I am glad that I managed it and won in two sets,” said Muchová on Tennis.com. “My opponent made a few mistakes, which also helped me. I wouldn't say that she suits me as an opponent. I just try to play a game that works for me,” she added.
Fruhvirtová, nine years younger, eliminated Volynetsová in one hour and 44 minutes. The native of Prague turned the unfavorable development from 0:2 to 4:2 in the first set and took the lead thanks to three breaks. In the second set, both players held serve until the 11th game, when Fruhvirtová succeeded in receiving again. The talented Czech then added to the duel to advance and took advantage of the first match point. In the 2nd round, she will challenge the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko.
Markéta Vondroušová advanced to the main competition, turning the duel with the American Taylor Townsend around and winning 6:7, 6:1, 6:0.
Men's and Women's Tournament in Madrid
Women
(subsidy 7,705,780 euros):
Singles – 1st round : >(Czech Republic) 6:3, 7:6 (7:5), Niemeierová (Germany) – Wang Sin-yü (China) 6:4, 6:2, Bogdanová (Romania) – Bondárová (Germany) 4 :6, 6:4, 7:6 (7:2), Cirstea (Romania) – Davis (USA) 6:3, 3:6, 6:1, L. Fruhvirtová (Czech Republic) – Volynetsová (USA) 6:3, 7:5, Zanevská (Belg.) – Keninová (USA) 6:0, 6:3, Marinová (Can.) – Chu Lin (China) 7:6 (7:1), 6:4, Putintseva (Kaz.) – Liu (USA) 6:4, 6:4.
