The first Grand Slam of the season is fast approaching. Fiona Ferro, currently ranked 164th in the world, began her qualification journey to reach the main draw.
After resuming competition last week in Canberra (defeated in the round of 16 by Clara Tauson), Fiona Ferro was in Melbourne for the start of the Australian Open qualifiers last night. Facing Slovakian Rebecca Sramkova (27 years old, ranked 131st) in this first round, the Azurรฉenne was the favorite before the match. This status was reinforced by her victory last July in Contrexeville over her current opponent.
However, it was the Slovakian who took the upper hand in the first set. Being more combative on returning second serves, Sramkova managed to break the Azurรฉenne three times to win the first set (6-3).
No panic on Fiona Ferro’s part as she quickly turned things around. More aggressive on her service games, she allowed her opponent just one opportunity to make a difference. The match became more balanced with Sramkova, standing tall at 1.80m, hitting aces (5 in this set). It was difficult to find a breakthrough, but Ferro managed it once. Consistent on her serves, the player from the Maralpine region evened the score (6-4).
In good form, Fiona Ferro went on the attack against Sramkova at the start of the third set. The Slovakian gradually lost her grip on the match, getting only one break point after losing her serve. With the French player much more stable on her serve, she left no further opportunities. Fiona Ferro closed out this third set in thirty minutes and the match in 1 hour and 46 minutes (3-6/6-4/6-1).
In the next round, she will face the young Japanese player Moyuka Uchijima (22 years old, ranked 170th).
