West Australian qualifier Storm Hunter is through to the second round in the Roland Garros 2023 women’s singles competition. Storm Hunter notched a major milestone on day one, winning her first Grand Slam main-draw singles match.
The 28-year-old West Australian recorded her long-awaited breakthrough with a hard-fought 4-6 6-2 6-4 victory against Spain’s Nuria Parrizas Diaz in opening-round action yesterday in Paris.
World No.204 Hunter stormed home in the two-hour and seven-minute encounter, recovering from a 2-4 deficit in the deciding set and reeling off four consecutive games to secure victory.
“It was honestly a great match and I’m just so happy to win my first match in a Slam,” Hunter told AAP after the match. “It’s really amazing.”
This is the resilient Hunter’s eighth career appearance in a Grand Slam singles main draw. She contested her first as a 19-year-old wildcard at Australian Open 2014, but after several injury setbacks, a disillusioned Hunter decided to stop playing singles at the end of the 2017 season.
Hunter, encouraged by her improved fitness, began her singles comeback in October 2019, only for the COVID-19 pandemic to delay that dream.
With less opportunities to rebuild her singles ranking when professional tennis returned, a pragmatic Hunter opted to prioritise doubles.
The big-hitting left-hander has thrived in doubles, establishing herself as one of the leading players on the WTA Tour. She won the US Open 2022 mixed doubles title and peaked at a career-high ranking of world No.5 earlier this month.
This success has meant Hunter has had to play a limited singles schedule, but she’s proving in Paris she can match it with the world’s best.
This is Hunter’s fourth consecutive singles victory on Parisian clay, having already won three qualifying rounds to earn her place in the main draw.
She becomes the first Australian woman since Sophie Ferguson in 2010 to reach the second round at Roland Garros as a qualifier.
Hunter’s growing confidence showed in her steely triumph against world No.94 Parribas Diaz. The Aussie qualifier fired 34 winners against the former world No.45, who has twice made third-round runs at the Australian Open.
Hunter is set to face an even bigger test in the second round, where she’ll play either world No.24 Martina Trevisan, a semifinalist at Roland Garros last year, or former world No.3 Elina Svitolina, who is returning from maternity leave and claimed the WTA 250 title in Strasbourg yesterday.
RESULT
Women’s singles, first round
[Q] Storm Hunter (AUS) d Nuria Parrizas Diaz (ESP) 4-6 6-2 6-4
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