The Nortesantandereana met her rival this Saturday for the first round of the Mexican tournament. This is the Japanese Nao Hibino, current number 125 on the WTA ranking.
This will be their first matchup in a singles draw, but they have a precedent in doubles. On February 21 they met in the round of 16 of the WTA 250 in Guadalajara. ‘Cami’ did a pair with the Hungarian Panna Udvardy; while the Japanese joined forces with the Polish Paula Kania. Hibino took the victory, after a disputed duel, which ended up being defined in a ‘supertiebreak’: 2-6, 7-5 and 10-5.
The Colombian comes from falling in the second round of the WTA 1,000 in Guadalajara, where she was beaten by the Czech Marie Bouzková by partials of 3-6 and 1-6. In San Diego she reached the main draw, after two wins in the ‘qualy’, but she said goodbye in her debut when she was defeated by the Italian Martina Trevisan (3-6 and 4-6). After this tournament you have to return until August 31, the day Alison Riske eliminated her in the second round of the US Open.
This string of poor results has generated concern in Osorio Serrano’s circle, who still has not hired a coach. For this reason, the Colombian must add victories in the Mexican tournament, otherwise she will continue to lose positions in the world ranking and it will become increasingly difficult for him to appear in the main draws of the most important tournaments on the circuit.
If she defeats Hibino, the Cucuteña will have an affordable duel with a view to the quarterfinals, because in the other key they will face Reka Luca Jani (number 112 on the planet) and the Dutch Eva Vedder (130 on the WTA list). It should be noted that the Colombian will be the seventh seed in Tampico, a sign of the great opportunity that she will have to shine.
The Belgian Elise Mertens, number 34 on the planet, will start as the favorite for the title. Bouzkova, who eliminated Osorio in Guadalajara, will be the second seed in this contest.
It is important to mention that Mariana Duque triumphed in this tournament in 2014, when it was listed in the ITF category ($100,000). That year, the former Bogota tennis player, who became 66 in the world, beat the Belgian An-Sophie Mestach 3-6, 6-1 and 7-6 (4).
