This week, Diane Parry is in Japan for the WTA 250 in Osaka. In the first round, the player from Nice delivered a fine match against the young Russian, Erika Andreeva.
A week after her first-round defeat in Wuhan, Diane Parry returned for the continuation of her Asian tour. It was in Osaka that the player from Nice had her appointment to try to regain confidence. The task promised to be challenging right from the draw, as she faced one of her nemeses, the Russian Erika Andreeva. The elder of the family (20 years old, ranked 66th worldwide) is having a more than solid season in 2024. Even though she is in the shadow of her sister Mira (whom she beat last week), the native of Krasnoyarsk has never been defeated by the player from Nice. In three encounters, Parry had never taken a set off this player.
While the match starts evenly, Erika Andreeva manages to obtain two break points midway through the first set. Diane Parry holds off for a while but ultimately concedes on the Russian’s third opportunity. Very solid on her service games, the Russian offers the French player only one chance to catch up, which she could not capitalize on. The first set goes to Andreeva (6-4).
The impressive response from Diane Parry
In the second set, Diane Parry tightens up her game on her first serve. Less exposed to her opponent’s returns, she nevertheless has to save four break points. The situation becomes tense, but the player from Nice holds her ground well. Tenacious on crucial points, she pushes the Russian to a tie-break. More incisive on the decisive points, the player from the French Riviera takes advantage to make the difference at four-all. A double mini break and she claims the set after a tough battle (7-6(4)).
Erika Andreeva cannot recover. The final set quickly swings in favor of the player from Marseille. Much less offensive, the Russian is on the back foot and quickly falls behind in the score. Diane Parry shows no sign of weakness. She quickly concludes the third set and the match (4-6/7-6(4)/6-1) after a battle lasting more than 2 hours and 30 minutes.
The curse is thus broken for the player from Nice, who will continue her Japanese adventure tomorrow. This time she will face Belgian Greet Minnen.
