Nastassja Burnett defeated Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor in straight sets 7/5 6/4 in one hour and 46 minutes and Alison Van Uytvanck breezed past Johanna Larsson 64 63 after one hour and 19 minutes of play. They are going to face each other in the second round. Although she was tired after three matches in three days, Burnett considers she entered the main event better adapted to courts and weather than her opponent, the sixth seed of the WTA International event held in Rio. “After the Australian Open I have practiced at home for too many days, I was missing some matches. I didn't have a day off to recover after the qualifying, but these matches in a row were important to find a good rhythm on court. They definitely helped”, said Burnett. Nastassja Burnett has an unusual name for an Italian. She says she was named after the famous German actress Nastassja Kinski. “My mother really liked her”, explained the number 160 in the WTA rankings. Her last name comes from a British family background.
And defending this multicultural name she wants to break into the top 100 soon. “When I get there, let's see what else can I do to advance. My dream is to be a top 10 player” The qualifier Danka Kovinic were not so fortunate as Burnett and Van Uytvanck in front of Kiki Bertens. The player from Montenegro felt a bit tired in the second set and lost 5/7 0/6. The first Brazilian player to go on court in the Rio Open presented by Claro hdtv main draw wasn't also successful. The 19-year-old Laura Pigossi, who was awarded a wild card by the event’s organization, surrendered to the more experienced Silvia Soler-Espinosa in two easy sets 6/0 6/1 in a match that lasted less than an hour.
“There are no easy matches on tour. I was practicing well and tried to take the control of the match since the very beginning", said Soler-Espinosa.
"This is an spectacular tournament, Rio is incredible, very beautiful, the people are lovely and for the Spanish players to play on clay is much better, so I am feeling very comfortable on court here.”
Results - 1st round
Silvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) d. Laura Pigossi (BRA) 6/0 6/1
Nastassja Burnett (ITA) d. Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor (ESP) 7/5 6/4
Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) d. Johanna Larsson (SWE) 6/4 6/3
Kiki Bertens (NED) d. Danka Kovinic (MNE) 7/5 6/0
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