Lucia Bronzetti cruised past three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber 6-1 6-3 to reach the second round at the Upper Austria Ladies in Linz.
Kerber beat Bronzetti in straight sets on grass at Bad Homburg in one of her last events before her 18-month maternity leave.
Bronzetti won 83% of her first serve points. The Italian player broke serve four times to build up a 6-1 3-1 lead and did not face a break point until Kerber pulled back on serve in the fifth game for 2-3 in the second set. Bronzetti earned her break lead in the sixth game on her third opportunity to take a 4-2 lead and served out the win on her first match point.
Bronzetti lost in the first round to eventual champion Anastasia Potapova in Linz last year. The 25-year-old Italian player won her first WTA 250 title in Rabat and advanced to another final in Bad Homburg and to the third round at the US Open. She reached a career-high of world number 47. She lost to Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the second round in Brisbane at the start of the 2024 season.
Bronzetti will now play her first match against Belgian player Elise Mertens, who won her fourth Grand Slam doubles title alongside her partner Hsie-su Wei at the Australian Open.
Kerber was playing in her third tournament since her come-back after giving birth to her daughter Liana. The German player has won just one of her seven matches so far. She beat Ajla Tomljanovic and lost to Iga Swiatek, Maria Sakkari, Caroline Garcia and Jasmine Paolini at the United Cup and was beaten by Danielle Collins in the first round at the Australian Open.
Clara Tauson came back from one set down to beat Camila Giorgi 3-6 6-3 6-3. The Danish player will play against second round match against 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko. Giorgi earned the first break in the sixth game to win the first set 6-3. Tauson broke in the eighth game to clinch the second set 6-3. Both players traded breaks in the third and fourth games of the second set. Tauson broke twice in the seventh and ninth games to seal the win on her second match point.
Germany’s Jule Niemeier beat Anna Blinkova 6-3 6-4 to set up a second round match against world number 2 Ekaterina Alexandrova. Blinkova opened up a 2-0 lead with an early break in the first game of the opening set. Niemeier won four consecutive games from 2-3 down with two breaks to clinch the first set 6-3. The German player converted her second break point in the fifth game to take a 3-2 and sealed the win on her first match point after saving three break points in the 10th game.
