QUEBEC CITY, September 12, 2018

Canada’s Rebecca Marino has won her first match on the WTA Tour since January 2013 defeating World No. 62 Tatjana Maria of Germany 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round of the Coupe Banque Nationale présentée par IGA on Tuesday.

Marino sent down five aces, winning 68 per cent of her first service points to seal victory in one hour and nine minutes. In February 2013, Marino decided to step away from tennis after revealing her battle with depression. She returned to the courts in February this year.

“It’s the first [WTA-level] main draw win I’ve had [in the comeback], that’s something special in itself,” Marino was quoted on the WTA website. “It’s really nice, and it indicates all the hard work I’ve been putting in recently.”

“I was 20, 21 when I was at my highest ranking, and so much time has passed, it’s not really fair if I try to compare myself to then. I’m looking at this as my career 2.0, just enjoying the process and trying to compete as hard as I can.”

Next up for the now 27-year-old from Vancouver will be Georgina Garcia Perez from Spain.

The tournament’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus lost to Vervara Lepchenko from the United States. The 32-year-old left-hander from Allentown capitalized on two of her four break point chances to seal a 6-4, 7-6(5) victory in one hour and 31 minutes.