That was a historic success! 18-year-old Julia Stusek won the first WTA main draw match of her career at the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open. On the Centre Court at Rothenbaum, she conjured up a fascinating comeback against former French Open semi-finalist Nadia Podoroska on the clay, winning 3:6, 6:3 and 6:4 after more than two and a half hours – it was the biggest success of her still young professional career.
„Hopefully that was the first of many wins. I'm so happy I was able to turn it around and win after the first set. I tried to turn my nervousness into pure joy. It's so much fun and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to play here,“ said Stusek after converting the match point to stadium announcer Matthias Killing. Stusek has thus laid the foundation for a possible German duel in the round of 16. Her next opponent will be determined in the duel between Hamburg's Tamara Korpatsch and Victoria Kasintseva.
Korpatsch is one of a total of seven Germans who will be picking up their rackets on Tuesday. The focus will undoubtedly be on the match between local favourite Noma Noha Akugue and Valentina Steiner, who is starting in the main draw thanks to a wildcard.
Niemeier & Barthel make it into the main draw
The German players represent by far the largest contingent at this year's Hamburg Ladies Open. After the conclusion of qualifying, a total of eight representatives from the German Tennis Federation (DTB) are competing in the WTA 250 tournament. On Monday, Jule Niemeier and local favourite Mona Barthel qualified for the main draw. This could be a groundbreaking success, especially for Niemeier. Her 6:4, 4:6, 6:1 victory over Estonian Elena Malygina puts her into a WTA main draw for the first time in a year. „It's always a lot of fun to play here. A lot has happened. But I believe we've now reached a point where we've slowly understood things and found a solution,“ explains Niemeier, who is currently coached by Hamburg's Georg von Massow. On Tuesday, she will play against Argentinian Maria Carle.
Mona Barthel has meanwhile made the most of her home advantage and is looking forward to a duel with Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva, which will also take place on Tuesday. „You rarely get the chance to play at home, so I'm very happy about the success. I was thinking recently, I’ve been doing this for 18 years. I can be really grateful that I've been able to do this for so long,“ explains the now 36-year-old.
What a shame, Victoria!
Victoria Brand fell short of the grand coup. The 16-year-old was unable to overcome the final hurdle to the main draw after her surprise opening victory in qualifying against Kathinka von Deichmann. Despite a very brave and courageous performance, the Kiel native lost to Elena Pridankina 3:6, 3:6, but she gained incredibly important experience. „It was a really cool feeling, especially because it's so close to home. It was a lot of fun playing on the Centre Court, it was a great experience. Of course, I was nervous too, but I quickly got used to the atmosphere. A tournament like this also gives me confirmation that I'm already doing a lot of things right,“ Brand summarised.
