Paolini survives Fernandez scare, Swiatek beats Azarenka to reach Bad Homburg quarters

BERLIN – Second seed Jasmine Paolini overcame a brave fightback from Leylah Fernandez to beat her 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (8-6) in a dramatic round-of-16 clash at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany on June 24, in which Fernandez saved four match points.

Paolini edged the opening set in a tiebreak, saving a set point at 5-4 before sealing it 10-8 after a gruelling 26-shot rally.

The Italian looked on course for a straight-sets win when she led 5-2 in the second, but Canadian Fernandez saved a match point with an ace and clawed her way back.

Paolini held more match points at 6-5, but Fernandez saved all three to force a tiebreak. Fernandez went up 6-4 in the breaker, but Paolini held firm, saving two set points before clinching victory on her fifth match point.

Despite converting only five of her 17 break points, Paolini secured her first win on grass this season after a 2½-hour match.

"It's very fun to play on grass, but you have to get used to it and you have to have confidence as well in your game, if not it's really tough," she said.

"I really like also to go on the net and doing drop volleys and it's fun but at the same time it's a bit tricky."

Fourth seed Iga Swiatek overcame a slow start to defeat Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-4. After trailing 2-4, Swiatek broke Azarenka back for 4-3 and held to level.

The Pole broke again for 5-4 and saved two break points in a tense final game before Azarenka sent a forehand wide to concede the set. The players traded breaks early in the second set before Swiatek pulled away.

After breaking for 4-3, the top seed held serve twice more to seal the win in straight sets.

In men’s tennis, Australia’s forgotten bad boy Bernard Tomic earned his first ATP main-draw victory since 2021 as he hit back from a set down to beat Rinky Hijikata at the Mallorca Open.

The 32-year-old, once ranked 17th in the world but now languishing down at 248, battled to a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 to set up a clash against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut – the result was unavailable at press time.

Tomic’s questionable attitude has attracted plenty of criticism throughout his career, often bragging about his party lifestyle and earnings and having numerous run-ins with authority over his penchant for speeding in sports cars.

But he appears to be giving tennis one last throw of the dice and skipped trying to qualify for Wimbledon in preference of trying to earn some ranking points by qualifying in Mallorca and boosting his hopes of a top-100 return. REUTERS, AFP