Carla Suarez Navarro kept the Spanish flag flying in the women’s draw by defeating Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-2, at the Madrid Open.
The world No.11 made a below-par start to both sets as she dropped serve. Despite the duo of blows, the Spaniard’s form blossomed as the match progressed. In contrast Lisicki experience substantial difficulty serving on the court, winning just 48% of her service points. The triumph will take the 27-year-old to the third round of the tournament for the fourth consecutive year.
“I feel really happy,” she said after her win.
“Today I have a really bad cold so I tried to be on court and play my game.”
The illness could the biggest threat to Suarez Navarro’s chances this year instead of who she plays on the court. Throughout the match, she was coughing and spluttering. The severity of the illness became apparent when the world No.11 candidly admitted that she would have withdrawn from the tournament if it wasn’t in her home country.
“Here in Madrid I didn’t think about it. But it’s true that perhaps if I had been in another tournament I would’ve quit. I would’ve thought about it” she said about her current illness.
The Spaniard is currently taking pills to treat a cold as well as a headache. She is not the first player in the draw to be troubled by illness. Czech player Lucie Safarova has already withdrawn from the tournament due to gastorential illness.
The Spanish expectation
The shock exit of Garbine Muguruza on Tuesday makes Suarez Navarro the only player from her country left in the draw. Despite being on her own, the 27-year-old is feeling no extra pressure to deliver the goods to her home nation.
“No, no more pressure,” the world No.11 reassured.
“I play at home. I feel really motivated about this tournament. I’m happy to be in the next round.”
She has also jumped to the defense of her fellow Spanish tennis players. Suarez Navarro said that the WTA tour is becoming ‘more even” and the series of seeds to exit the draw is becoming less of a shock for her.
“I have said it several times: Nowadays the circuit is very even. It’s very difficult to stay up there. It’s very difficult to have positive results every week.”
The next mission of the Spaniard’s Madrid campaign will be against Sam Stosur in the third round. Stosur booked her place after her opponent, Safarova, withdrew. Suarez Navarro has played Stosur on six previous occasions, winning their most recent encounter at this year’s Brisbane International.
“She is a very dangerous player because she serves well and good forehands and experience in the tour. She knows what it is to compete at the maximum level and how to compete here in Madrid,” she said about Stosur.
A win over Stosur will elevate Suarez Navarro to her third Madrid quarterfinal. The only thing is will she be well enough to play at her best?
