German qualifier Eva Lys was shaking and a bit lost for words after clinching her first WTA win and setting up a Stuttgart meeting against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Lys, who won two qualifying matches to make the Stuttgart main draw, edged out Viktorija Golubic 5-7 7-5 7-5 to progress into the Stuttgart round-of-16.
Lys, ranked at No. 241 in the world, had never played a top-50 player before.
āThe match was 1.5 hours ago and Iām still shaking. Itās great to have my 1st WTA win, especially here in Germany, in Stuttgart. Iām practicing here a lot with the DTB and it was always a dream to play here. To win todayās match, Iām still speechless,” Lys told WTA Insider.
Lys beats Golubic, Swiatek next
Lys was three times up by a break but Golubic three times recovered as the two players were tied at 5-5 after the first 10 games of the match featured six breaks.
Lys paid the price for failing to hold to her serve after claiming breaks as Golubic broke Lys for the fourth time in the 12th game when the German was serving to stay in the first set.
In the second set, Golubic was three times up by a break but Lys three times recovered as the two players were tied at 5-5 after 10 games of the set.
Lys then served out the 11th game to take a 6-5 lead, before she broke Golubic in the following game to send the match into a decider.
Golubic was serving for the match in the 10th game of the third set, before Lys claimed back-to-back breaks to overturn the deficit and complete a comeback win.
Lys plays next No. 1 seed Swiatek, who had a first round bye in Stuttgart.
“I had my 1st practice on center court today. I still feel like I need like two more practices to get used to the surface. But I think I’m ready because the transition from hard courts to clay court for me is pretty quick. So yeah, we’re going to see,” Swiatek said.