Camila Giorgi beat last week’s San Diego champion Katie Boulter 6-3 6-2 in 78 minutes in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells to set up a second round match against Czech teenager Linda Noskova.
Giorgi broke in the second game of the opening set to take a 2-0 lead. Boulter broke straight back at deuce in the third game. Giorgi broke for the second time in the fourth game and held his next three service games to win the first set 6-3 in 40 minutes.
Giorgi broke twice in the first and third games to race out to a 4-0 lead. Boulter held on her serve at 15 in the fifth game to win her first game of the second set. Giorgi served out the second set on her first match point after saving two break points in the eighth game.
World number 131 Katie Volynets beat 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva 7-5 7-5. Volynets will face Ons Jabeur in the second round. Volynets won the last four games of the match to close out match after 2 hours and 7 minutes.
Volynets reached a career-high number 74 last spring but her ranking dropped last January after she failed to defend her third-round points at the Australian Open. The Californian player reached the quarter finals in Hua-Hin and two semifinals at WTA 125-level.
Andreeva broke twice in the first set, but Volynets broke straight back both times to draw level to 5-5. Volynets came back from 30-40 down to break serve in the 12thgame and sealed the first set 7-5.
Andreeva broke serve in the third game to take a 2-1 lead, but Volynets broke back in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Andreeva converted her second break point in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. Volynets served to stay in the second set down 3-5. Andreeva earned four set points, but Volynets saved them to hold serve for 5-5. Volynets sealed the win with a break on his first match point in the 12th game.
“I was honestly so zoned in that I did no comprehend that I was facing set points. I found that even when I was down, I had good ideas. I just wasn’t executing”, said Volynets.
