Zarina Diyas was a winner in a hard fought match at the French Open Monday night. The young Kazak defeated Germany’s Carina Witthoeft in a three set winner 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Court 18 at Roland Garros.
This was the first time the two met and to occur in a Grand Slam only assured that both put their best performance on the table. Both have never made it beyond the second round at Roland Garros but one would clearly be assured. Diyas had a better run in her last tournament making the round of 16 at Strasbourg before losing in a three set fight. The German has been on the surface longer this season than her opponent which could be the determining factor.
She took a 2-0 run ahead of Diyas as her power shots were getting the best of the Kazak. Diyas recovered on her second try of service laying down a victory to get into the set. It was the last she would see for the set as Witthoeft went on to take the next three to play for the set. She was denied by Diyas who won in the seventh preventing another break from occurring. Witthoeft recovered winning the set on serve ending the 38-minute set.
Things went differently in the second set as Diyas brought her game play up a notch to play out each game like they were her last. Through four games, the two traded off wins to stay even at two all. The fifth was a huge win for Diyas as she got into a tight draw with Witthoeft. After a few breaks, the 22-year-old changed the tide of the set for her own benefit winning the game point. She soon found herself up 4-2 hoping that pushing a third set was possible.
The German struck back with two wins that had her leveled back with the Kazak at four games apiece. Diyas got back out front with a win in Game Nine that had her playing against Witthoeft for the set. With tremendous success, Diyas held off her German opponent to push the match the distance and play a crucial third set.
After a brief tie through the first two games, Diyas was in charge of the set taking the break from Witthoeft before dictating things through five. The German made a stab at stopping Diyas’ winning streak playing in a deuce draw. After three breaks, she got it done to cut the margin in half. It was the last win she would get on court as Diyas ran for the home stretch taking the next two wins that ended the two hour and one minute match.
Diyas had a solid serving percentage of 88 percent as the match came to a close scoring 61 percent of points on the first serve. With plenty of effort put into the three set match, Diyas would go on to face Simona Halep in a second round.
