Romania has serious representation in the 3rd round in Rome, where three of our players have arrived: Irina Begu, Sorana Cîrstea and Jaqueline Cristian. He did the first of them today, benefiting from the withdrawals of two opponents.
Irina Begu is in the 3rd round at the Italian Internationals. Photo EPA EFE
Initially, Irina Begu was supposed to perform in the 2nd round against the number 4 favorite, Elena Rybakina. The Kazakh announced, just an hour before the start of the game, that an injury prevents her from playing. She was quickly replaced by the organizers with the French Oceane Dodin (73 WTA), who had lost in the last round of the qualifications.
The Romanian, ranked 161 in the WTA, started the match poorly, the opponent quickly making it 2-0. A series of 5 games in a row by Irina followed, three of which on Dodin's service, the French athlete declaring a forfeit at 5-2. If in the first round, Begu had a match played over two days, due to the rain, now she solved the game in just 29 minutes.
He secured a prize of 30,435 euros
Our player thus reached the 3rd round of the 1000 points tournament in Rome, securing a check for 30,435 euros and 65 WTA points, with which she will make an important jump in the ranking, of about 20 positions.
Next, Irina Begu will duel for a place in the round of 16 with favorite number 27, Elinse Mertens. The two athletes have faced each other four times so far, the Belgian winning 3-1. In the only match played on clay, at Istanbul 2017, Mertens prevailed with a double 6-1. The last direct confrontation was won by our player, in three sets, at the US Open 2022.
