Svetac and Wurth have secured their spots in the main draw, bringing the total number of Croatian representatives in the main draw to seven.
An interesting day for tennis fans in the city beneath Biokovo. On the centre court of the Tennis Centre, Australian Maya Joint defeated Croatia’s Ana Konjuh 6:2, 6:2 in the first round of the WTA Makarska Open.
Unlike Konjuh, two young Croatian players had reason to celebrate after qualifying for the main draw. Tara Wurth cruised past American He 6:0, 6:1, while young Split native Sara Svetac also impressed, defeating Australian Taylahu Preston 7:5, 6:4 to reach the first round for the second consecutive year.
“This is my favourite tournament — the location, the organisation, the level,” Sara said after today’s win. WTA Makarska Open director Feliks Lukas noted that with these two young Croatian prospects securing their spots, there are now as many as seven Croatian players in the main draw. By simple maths, that accounts for nearly a quarter of the draw — 22 percent to be precise.
Among the more notable matches, American Chirico got the better of Slovenian Zidanšek in the first round — a two-time winner of this tournament back when it was held in Bol — while Andorra’s Jimenez Kasintseva caused an upset by defeating top seed German Ella Seidel in three sets.
TOMORROW IS “CROATIAN DAY”
Tomorrow’s centre court action features two seeded players, both ranked inside the world’s top 100 — Egypt’s Mayar Sherif and France’s Diane Parry. Sherif takes on Tig, while Parry faces Davis. The winner of the first Makarska tournament, Germany’s Jule Niemeier, will play against Latvia’s Semenistaja.
As many as five Croatian players are in action tomorrow — Petra Martić faces France’s Margaux Rouvroy, Petra Marčinko takes on Romania’s Miriam Bulgaru, and there will be an all-Croatian clash between Svetac and Wurth. To cap it all off, the match of the day: Kaštela’s own Tena Lukas goes all-or-nothing against last year’s champion and second seed, American Katie Volynets.
