The troublesome weather conditions at the Gstaad Open did little to dampen the enthusiasm of local tennis fans on a day when a star of the past was outdone by a star of the future.
Former top-10 player Patty Schnyder ended her five-year hiatus from the WTA Tour with a thrilling two-and-a-half-hour clash against Katerina Siniakova. The highly anticipated return of the 37-year-old lived up to the expectations. Schnyder was just two games away from winning her first tour match since the 2011 Miami Open before succumbing 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, to the Czech world No.93 at the rain-plagued Swiss tournament.
“A couple points, and it could have gone either way. I wasn’t the luckiest, either,” Schnyder told wtatennis.com.
“But we also have to talk about how tough it was to wait with the rain and to play in that wet and cold weather. It was a struggle for both, I know, but for my game, it’s helpful when the ball bounces high and it’s not too heavy. Normally I’d find these conditions in Gstaad, but not with the rain!”
Schnyder’s return wasn’t the main talking point of the fourth day of the tournament. That accolade was awarded to a player who is 21 years younger than her. 16-year-old Swiss wildcard Rebeka Masarova made a winning debut to the WTA Tour by stunning second seed Jelena Jankovic 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
“I feel amazing,” Masarova said.
“I prepared so well mentally and physically for this. I was so happy to play this match; I knew it’d be a good experience, but I wanted to win, and I’m glad I did!”
Earlier this year, Masarova won the French Open girls’ title after producing back-to-back wins over the top two seeds in the draw. Since then, the Swiss player has won two German junior titles in Offenbach and Berlin. At Wimbledon she crashed out in the third round of the girls’ tournament to Great Britain’s Gabriella Taylor.
In the second round Masarova will play Estonian world No.92 Anett Kontaveit.
In other matches in the tournament, Viktorija Golubic upset seventh seed Mona Barthel 2-6, 6-1, 7-5, and Carina Witthöft outlasted Stefanie Vogele 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
Note: Quotes belong to wtatennis.com
