Still present in China for the continuation of the Asian tour, Diane Parry registered for the Suzhou Challenger. Facing Yulia Putintseva, the Nice native battled for a long time but logically fell in three sets.
Searching for rhythm since her round of 16 at the US Open, Diane Parry is struggling to remain in the top 100. Ranked 101st in the world, the Nice native is trying to regain a place among the best players on the planet, not without difficulties.ย
After her early elimination in the second round of the Beijing Masters 1000 qualifications, Diane Parry registered for the Suzhou Challenger, south of the Chinese capital.ย
The objective is to gain a few places in the ranking and especially to prepare well for the second Masters 1000 of the Asian tour in ten days in Wuhan. To do so, the Azur native had a first-round match against the experienced Kazakh player, Yulia Putintseva (30 years old, 63rd in the world). A player she had beaten in 2022 in Palermo.
But things did not go as planned in the first set. Too inconsistent on her backhand, Diane Parry allowed herself to be dominated in the rally. Caught off guard by Yulia Putintseva’s powerful forehand returns, the Maralpine could not win a single service game. A first serve malfunction offered constant opportunities for her opponent to break. Diane Parry had to take all the risks to score a point. It was not until the end of the first set that the Nice native regained control of the game. More active, she broke back with a backhand counter which she volleyed home. Unfortunately, the improvement was too late and short-lived. She ended up losing the first set due to another unforced error (6-1).
The Diesel Starts Running
After a long break in the locker room, Diane Parry returned to the court with better intentions. Although the start of the second set was difficult due to her lack of effectiveness behind her second serve, she managed to produce more games by finding her first serve. A real contest developed on the court. Opposite, Yulia Putintseva was less effective on return and allowed the Maralpine to develop her game on her service. As a result, Diane Parry managed to come back and even take the lead by breaking her opponent, who probably thought the match would end quickly.ย
But as she was serving for the second set, Diane Parry once again suffered under the game of the No. 5 seed. The two players were tied at the end of the set, and the Azur native had to serve to stay in the match. More confident, she tried to play longer with her forehand, and it paid off. Thanks notably to a stunning cross-court forehand winner while on the backfoot, Diane Parry earned the right to play a tie-break.ย
She tightened her play on her serve and immediately took the lead. Yulia Putintseva’s heavy shots were less damaging, forcing her to take more risks. Ultimately, she made several unforced errors and handed the second set to Diane Parry (7-6(4)).ย
The match was back on. However, the start of the deciding set proved more difficult than expected for the Frenchwoman. More focused and determined, Yulia Putintseva caught her second wind. When things go well in her mind, the game follows for the Kazakh. This is indeed the trademark of this player who is capable of defeating the majority of her opponents but also losing to a top 500 player. This time, it was with calmness and the fighting spirit that characterizes her that she tormented Diane Parry. As in the first set, she quickly took the lead and capitalized on an moment of weakness to overpower the Frenchwoman in just 35 minutes. Too dominant on her serve, she left Diane Parry no chance to come back and clinched the match on yet another error at the net by the Frenchwoman, who had suffered from Yulia Putintseva’s forehand power.ย
Diane Parry was defeated in 2h19 (6-1/7-6/6-1).ย ย ย
