PARMA, May 18, 2021 (by Lorenzo Carini)

The fourth day of competition at the Emilia-Romagna Open has been archived after at about ten hours of matches at Tennis Club Parma, the complex where the new WTA 250 event organized by MEF Tennis Events is being held during this week.

Martic & Gauff: well done!

Petra Martic and Coco Gauff made their debuts in Parma today. The No. 2 seed from Croatia and semifinalist in Rome last week, started her adventure in the second tournament in Italy with 6-4, 6-2 win over Varvara Gracheva. Martic is coached by former Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone. She had the opportunity to practice before the match with Lisa Pigato, the Italian rising star, who lost to Serena Williams after advancing through qualification.

The 17-year-old Gauff, who is endorsed by Barilla, one of the tournament’s main sponsors, needed more than two hours to defeat Kaia Kanepi and advanced to the second round against Camila Giorgi.

Running into 2nd round like 🏃🏾‍♀️@CocoGauff @Barilla | @ERTourism | @RegioneER | @ComuneParma | @SuperTennisTv | #Gauff | #EmiliaRomagnaOpen | pic.twitter.com/xdlIjlRJss

— MEF tennis events (@meftennisevents) May 18, 2021

What a battle for Anna-Lena Friedsam

Former World No. 45 Anna-Lena Friedsam, whose campaign in Parma started in the qualifying draw last Saturday, advanced to the second round of the main draw against Caroline Garcia thanks to her three-hour win against Viktorija Golubic 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-2. In other first round matches, wild card Sara Errani defeated Ana Bogdan in three sets 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, while lucky loser Liudmila Samsonova didn’t have any problems against the other Italian wild card Giulia Gatto-Monticone, winning 6-2 6-2.

Serena Williams is out: Siniakova on fire

Katerina Siniakova is the protagonist of the match of the day in Parma as she defeated World No. 8 and top seed Serena Williams 7-6(4), 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals at WTA level for the second time since April. It was Siniakova’s sixth win against a player ranked inside the Top 10. She ended the match in tears. Her next opponent will be the winner of the Friedsam-Garcia match.

At the press conference, Siniakova said: “It’s amazing, this win means a lot to me. I’ve played an amazing match, I’m really happy. I can play well everyday, I just need to be more focused on my tennis. I will keep this match in mind because I didn’t do a lot of mistakes. My goal for the season? Try to find my game and feel happy on court, I want just to keep fighting and push my tennis to the best level.”

Also, Sloane Stephens and Amanda Anisimova won their respective second-round matches against Daria Kasatkina 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2, 6-4.

SINGLES R1 – RESULTS
[Q] Anna-Lena Friedsam (GER) d. Viktorija Golubic (SUI) 6-4 6-7(1) 6-2
[3] Cori Gauff (USA) d. Kaia Kanepi (EST) 7-6(6) 7-6(7)
[WC] Sara Errani (ITA) d. Ana Bogdan (ROU) 7-5 4-6 6-1
[LL] Liudmila Samsonova (RUS) d. [WC] Giulia Gatto-Monticone (ITA) 6-2 6-2
[2] Petra Martic (CRO) d. Varvara Gracheva (RUS) 6-4 6-2

SINGLES R2 – RESULTS
Katerina Siniakova (CZE) d. [1/WC] Serena Williams (USA) 7-6(4) 6-2
Sloane Stephens (USA) d. [4] Daria Kasatkina (RUS) 1-6 6-4 7-5
[5] Amanda Anisimova (USA) d. [Q] Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) 6-2 6-4

DOUBLES R1 – RESULTS
Elixane Lechemia (FRA)/Ingrid Neel (USA) d. Quinn Gleason (USA)/Erin Routliffe (NZL) 6-2 3-6 10-8
[SR] Viktorija Golubic (SUI)/Alexandra Panova (RUS) d. Naomi Broady (GBR)/Asia Muhammad (USA) 6-4 7-5

DOUBLES R2 – RESULTS
[4] Cori Gauff (USA)/Catherine McNally (USA) d. Makoto Ninomiya (JPN)/Zhaoxuan Yang (CHN) 6-0 6-1