Melbourne, Jan 18 (IANS) Zeynep Sonmez produced a spirited performance to defeat Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round of the Australian Open on Saturday, becoming the first Turkish player to advance to the second round of the tournament.

Playing at the 1573 Arena, Sonmez showed remarkable composure in a closely fought three-set contest that lasted over two hours. Despite being up against the experienced 11th seed Alexandrova, the Turkish player stayed calm at key moments to seal a memorable victory.

The opening set saw both players trade heavy baseline shots, with Alexandrova relying on her powerful serve. Sonmez, however, absorbed the pressure well and broke serve late in the set to take it 7-5.

Alexandrova responded strongly in the second set, improving her first-serve effectiveness and dictating play from the baseline. The Russian broke Sonmez midway through the set and went on to claim it 6-4, pushing the match into a decider.

Sonmez grabbed everyone's attention during the middle of the match as she came to help the ball girl who collapsed due to excessive heat. The incident happened just before Sönmez was about to serve. After seeing the ball girl down, Sönmez went to her side and took her off the court by putting her arm over her shoulder.

The final set remained tight throughout, with neither player willing to give away easy points. Sonmez continued to fight hard from the back of the court and stayed composed during long rallies. She held her nerve to close out the match 6-4.

Although Alexandrova fired 10 aces during the match, she was hampered by seven double faults. Sonmez made the most of her chances, converting eight of her 17 break points and winning more points on her second serve. Sonmez had a 56% win on the 1st serve and a 52% win on the 2nd, while her opponent, Alexandrova, had 67 % win percentage on the first serve and only 34 % in the second.

--IANS

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