Smooth sailing for teenager Marcinko at Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge

Dubai: Croatian teenager Petra Marcinko continued where she left from last weekend with a smooth 6-4, 6-1 win against 2018 runner-up Viktoria Hruncakova even as the competition lost top seed Dalma Galfi to injury while trailing qualifier Tereza Martincova on the second day of the 28th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge, on Tuesday.

Marcinko, who turns 20 on December 4, ensured that she should be the one to be watched this week after she tackled her experienced Slovakian opponent while winning in straight sets in 75 minutes on court No 1.

Also bowing out of the competition was Kristina Mladenovic, the former world No 1 in doubles, as the Frenchwoman went down in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to Alevtina Ibragimova in just 73 minutes, while the sensational 16-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain also advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Valentina Ryser in a battle between two qualifiers.

Winner of the girls’ singles crown at the 2024 US Open, Stojsavljevic will now meet third seed Sinja Kraus of Austria, while Ibragimova will take on sixth seed Linda Fruhvirtova, on Wednesday.

The world No 1 on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2021, Croatia’s Marcinko won the inaugural Fujairah W75 tournament last Sunday with a 6-4, 6-4 result over Alevtina Ibragimova. The youngster showed no signs of slowing down despite a strong display from Hruncakova — a losing finalist here in 2018.

Having lost the first set 6-3, top seed Dalma Galfi was trailing 1-2 in the second when she was forced to quit with an injury on her right foot.

“For sure, it was tough out there. She’s (Hruncakova) a good player and she started off well. I am glad I was able to just give off my best and get through to the next round,” Marcinko disclosed.

“This is the cut-off tournament before the 2026 Australian Open, and getting all the points I can win is crucial for my long-term planning. Fujairah has always been a lucky venue for me as I won a junior title there six years. I hope I can carry forward this streak here in Dubai,” she smiled.

Finishing 2021 as the world No 1 ranked girl, Marcinko won the junior girls’ title at the 2022 Australian Open. On Tuesday, she showed why she is being spoken about so much on the WTA Tour as she raised her game when needed against a crafty opponent like Hruncakova.

The first set was close with both players securing a pair of breaks each. And it was the erratic Hruncakova who paid dearly for a string of double faults as Marcinko ran away with the set in 44 minutes. In the second, the 19-year-old Croat broke twice for a 4-0 cushion to ultimately serve out for set and match in an hour and 15 minutes and set a second round meeting with Great Britain’s Harriet Dart — an easy 6-1, 6-1 winner against Japanese qualifier, Mai Hontama.

“This week isn’t going to get any easier now on. But I am here to keep my winning momentum and see how far I can reach here,” Marcinko added.

Making a comeback following a second long injury lay-off, Martincova was not exactly pleased with the way in which she got her win against the top seed. “Advancing to the next round is a good feeling, but I would have loved to do this the proper way. It is sad to see a fellow player get injured, but now I need to think of what I can do myself,” Martincova said.

Results: Alevtina Ibragimova bt Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 6-2; Sofya Lansere bt Olivia Gadecki 7-5, 6-2; Sinja Kraus bt Sara Saito 6-3, 6-4; Xinyu Gao bt Caroline Werner 6-3, 3-6, 6-1; Harriet Dart bt Mai Hontama 6-1, 6-1; Arianne Hartono bt Mei Yamaguchi 6-2, 6-1; Linda Fruhvirtova bt Justina Mikulskyte 6-0, 7-5; Tereza Martincova bt Dalma Galfi 6-3, 2-1 (retd.); Petra Marcinko bt Viktoria Hruncakova 6-4, 6-1.