Fiona Ferro continues her streak at the end of this year. The player from Valbonne was invited to the WTA 125 tournament in Limoges. In the first round, she faced off against German player Mona Barthel.
While most of the women’s circuit has been on break for several weeks, Fiona Ferro is in search of momentum. Present in Angers last week, the player from the Maralpine region continued this week with the WTA 125 in Limoges. Invited by the organizers, she challenged another German after having lost last week to Tamara Korpatsch. This time, it was also a former Top 100 player who stood against Fiona Ferro, namely Mona Barthel (world no. 240, 35 years old). The native of Bad Segeberg, north of Hamburg and a former world no. 23, has won four titles in her career. On the WTA circuit, it was their fourth meeting. So far, Mona Barthel had the advantage (two wins to one). Their last encounter was last year at a challenger in the Czech Republic won by the German.
From the start, both players were very aggressive in returning serves. It was difficult to establish an exchange. The opponents struggled with their service games, breaking each other in turn. Points were reduced to two to three racket strokes. However, Mona Barthel made more unforced errors and ended up being broken at a crucial moment. Fiona Ferro won the first set (6-4) despite eight double faults.
In the second set, Mona Barthel varied her game a bit more. Fiona Ferro insisted on using her forehand but couldn’t make a real difference. Her opponent was more committed and managed to break the Frenchwoman twice in a row. More impactful in her backhand, Mona Barthel seemed to have found an opening while Fiona Ferro struggled to stay close to the baseline. Often caught off-balance, the player from Valbonne suffered and let Mona Barthel come back to tie the sets (6-1).
A mental victory for Fiona Ferro
The battle finally set in during the third set. The two players exchanged blow for blow. Fiona Ferro made an effort to take the advantage but often made slight errors in judgment that prevented her from finishing. Up until the start of the 6th game. Fatigue set in for the player from Valbonne who still managed to create differences, notably through strong forehand attacks. Mona Barthel was the first to crack, conceding the first break of the set.
Thereafter, Fiona Ferro had a hard time converting her advantage. Less mobile and precise, she sent too many shots into the alley under pressure. Frustration began to rise, but the player from the Côte d’Azur fought back and managed to save five break points. After more than 15 minutes of intense combat, she managed to confirm her service game to lead 5-2.
On the other side, Mona Barthel eventually collapsed and allowed Fiona Ferro to claim victory (6-4/1-6/6-2) after more than an hour and forty minutes of play. A win that will certainly boost the morale of the player from Valbonne, who is gradually climbing back up the rankings (world no. 395). In the next round, she might face the 5th seed, Alycia Parks.
