In a surprising twist at the Italian Open in Rome, China's Wang Xinyu fell to Russia's Kamilla Rakhimova in the women’s singles first round, serving up an exciting match for tennis fans everywhere! 🎾
Originally, Wang was set to face former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova from the Czech Republic. However, due to Vondrousova’s shoulder injury, Rakhimova stepped in as her replacement.
The matchup brought an interesting twist too. In January at the Adelaide International qualifiers, Wang had clinched a victory over Rakhimova. This time around, however, Rakhimova reversed the outcome with a dominant 6-3, 6-2 straight-set win in just one hour and 32 minutes.
The first set saw both players trading breaks, but Wang eventually lost her rhythm, surrendering the set 6-3. In the second set, after an even start at 1-1, Rakhimova surged ahead with four consecutive games, ultimately wrapping up a convincing win at 6-2.
Now, Rakhimova is gearing up to face 10th-seeded Emma Navarro from the USA in the second round. Stay tuned as the Italian Open continues to deliver thrilling tennis action! 🔥
Reference(s):
Wang Xinyu falls to Kamilla Rakhimova in first round of Italian Open
cgtn.com
