Not yet fully recovered from her knee injury sustained at the Billie Jean King Cup in mid-November, Diane Parry did not make it past the first round at the Australian Open. The Nice native was defeated by the powerful Donna Vekic.
No miracle for Diane Parry. Absent from the WTA circuit since mid-November and her victory in the Billie Jean King Cup against Emiliana Arango, the player from Nice hadn’t provided any updates. Questions remained about the condition of her knee, injured during her last match, which had forced the player from the Maralpines to withdraw from the rest of the competition. It is evident that the injury is not completely behind her…
Nevertheless present for the start of this Australian Open, Diane Parry decided to test herself. And what a test it was! Because during the draw, the French player was matched against the 18th seed, Donna Vekic. The Croatian (ranked 19th in the world, 28 years old) arrived in Australia as a serious outsider for the first Grand Slam of the year.
The Croatian quickly imposed her powerful game. Diane Parry responded well and even managed to earn a break point. But Donna Vekic was relentless. By playing close to the lines, she put the player from the French Riviera in a difficult position. The break opportunities multiplied. Until the 9th game, when the fifth opportunity proved to be the right one. Donna Vekic logically won the first set (6-4).
The second set was similar. Diane Parry didn’t seem to have very good feelings, particularly with her lateral game. This is not ideal when you are being pushed from side to side by an offensive player. However, the French player showed resilience and managed to trouble her opponent. Despite this, constantly chasing the score and in spite of two successful breaks back, Diane Parry was defeated (6-4/6-4) in 1 hour and 44 minutes.
Currently, it is unclear what the schedule will be for the player from Nice in the upcoming weeks, but it’s highly likely that it will involve receiving treatment.
