Last night, the Niçoise Diane Parry was playing her second-round qualifications match for the WTA 500 tournament in Monterrey. Unfortunately, her journey ended against Lulu Sun.
Not the ideal preparation… A week before the start of the US Open, Diane Parry was making her return on the American continent. After her success last night against her compatriot Amandine Hesse, the Niçoise was looking for confidence on hard courts. Eliminated in the second round in Warsaw at the end of last month, her record on this surface is not very flattering this season (two wins and three losses).
She needed to make up for lost playing time in Monterrey, Mexico. To do so, the Azuréenne had a match with the New Zealander Lulu Sun (24 years old, 90th in the world). A left-hander who made a name for herself last year by moving from 200th to the 40th place in the world rankings, notably thanks to a successful grass-court tour. In 2025, the Te Anau native is struggling to confirm her status. With inconsistent results, she is also looking for form before starting the last Grand Slam of the season.
The two players had already faced each other in 2022 in Canada (Diane Parry won in two sets). This time, things did not go the same way. From the start of the match, Diane Parry was outpaced. Lulu Sun, known for being an aggressive player, stuck to her game plan and kept Diane Parry far behind her baseline. Relentless on her serve, the Kiwi took the lead in the first set without really being challenged. Diane Parry tried to respond at the end of the set but it was too late. Lulu Sun took the first set (6-4).
The rest of the match was much closer. Diane Parry responded well and tightened her game. More aggressive, she managed to find her rhythm behind her serve despite a relatively low first serve percentage (54%). Nevertheless, she conceded very few points on her serve and did not face any break points.
This was a positive point, especially when playing against an opponent with such surgical first serve quality. Because when Lulu Sun hits her first serve, she almost always wins the point. The only opportunity for Diane Parry was to attack her opponent’s second serve. She managed to do this at (4-3). Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Lulu Sun survived after saving two break points and pushed the French player to a tiebreak. With such a first serve quality, this decisive phase of the game eventually swung in favor of the New Zealander, seven points to five. Lulu Sun won the match in 1h45 (6-4/7-6).
A hard blow for Diane Parry, who was visibly frustrated at the end of the match. Next stop, the United States and the US Open, which kicks off this weekend.
