Porsche Tennis Grand Prix - Qualification: German women successful - Noma Noha Akugue surprised
Eventful start to the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix . In the first round of qualification, 24 players from twelve nations fought exciting matches in the battle for one of the six remaining places in the main field of the traditional Stuttgart tournament.
by PM
last edit: Apr 18, 2021, 01:45 am
The only 17-year-old noma Noha Akugue from the Porsche Junior Team provided the biggest surprise. The reigning German champion from Hamburg (Der Club an der Alster) defeated the number 1 seeded Russian Margarita Gasparyan 6: 3, 6: 4, who was an incredible 698 better in the world rankings. In the final round on Sunday she will meet Nastasja Schunk (BASF TC Ludwigshafen) from the Porsche Talent Team, who beat Daniela Seguel from Chile 6: 4, 6: 4.
The second player from the Porsche Junior Team also made it through one lap on Saturday. Julia Middendorf (TV Visbek) won 4: 6, 6: 1, 6: 3 against the Croatian Jana Fett. Your opponent in the fight for the main draw ticket is Tamara Korpatsch (Der Club an der Alster). After Katharina Gerlach (Tennispark Versmold), who was sponsored by the Porsche Talent Team and left Romanian Laura Ioana Paar behind with 6: 3, 7: 5, two players from Porsche Team Germany also made it into the final round of the strong qualification: Anna-Lena Friedsam (TC Bredeney) kept her chance in a 2:20 hour three-set match with a hard-fought 6: 4, 4: 6, 6: 3 against her club colleague Stephanie Wagner. Mona Barthel (TEC Waldau), who last made it to the main individual round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in 2015, won 6: 1, 6: 4 against the Italian Martina Caregaro. The final round of the qualification starts on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Draw of the main draw live on the Center Court
The main field of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix will be drawn on Sunday at 2 p.m. on the Center Court of the Porsche Arena. Ashleigh Barty, the Australian number 1 in the world, and the two-time Stuttgart winner Angelique Kerber will also be there. The draw will be broadcast live on Porsche Tennis TV at porsche-tennis.com.