Sport

Roland Garros: Petra Martić into Quarters, Vekić Out

Petra Martić will play in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros! After a great battle in the round of 16, Petra came to the victory over Estonian Kaia Kanepi (WTA-88) after two hours and 14 minutes of play. Martić won 5:7, 6:2, 6:4 in her greatest career success, reports HTS on June 2, 2019. 

It was a match full of excitement, with ups and downs on both sides. Kanepi won the first set after Petra had the 3:2 advantage and service, while in the second set she led 2:0. It seemed then that Kanepi was going for the win, but Martić was able to come back, and with six consecutive games, she equalized Kanepi in sets. 

Kanepi started strong in the third set, and on her service, she led 3:0, but Petra again turned the game around and took the next three games to lead 3:2. Kanepi came back for 4:3 and had four break points for 5:3, but Petra came out of the hurdle and in the ninth game had a crucial break. At 5:4 she served for her first quarterfinal of a Grand Slam tournament - and that’s after her fifth appearance in the round of 16. 

With this victory, Martić achieved a new career ranking on the ATP list (23rd place) and in the quarters will play against Markéta Vondroušová, 38th on the WTA list. So far, these two have met on four occasions,and the last time a month ago in the final of Istanbul. Petra has won all four games. 

Donna Vekić was not as lucky and failed to overcome Johanna Konta in the round of 16. Konta celebrated 6:2, 6:4 after an hour and 25 minutes of play. It was their seventh match and the fourth win for Konta.

Throughout most of the match, the British tennis player was better and utilized her chances. In the first three games, we saw three breaks, and since Vekić served first, she was already behind. By the end of the first set, Vekić lost her service and missed five chances to break. All in all, Konta showed much more.

The players went six games without a break, then Konta took away Vekić’s service who immediately returned in the same way and leveled at 4:4. However, the British player then reached 0:40, Vekić saved two break chances, but not the third. After that, Konta easily concluded the match for the win. 

Croatia still has other representatives at Roland Garros. Namely, Nikola Mektić will play in the mixed doubles quarters with partner Alicja Rosolska on Monday, while Ivan Dodig will play in the round of 16 with Latisha Chan on Sunday. Mate Pavić and partner Oliver Marach will play in the men's doubles round of 16 on Sunday. 

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