Carla Suárez is through to the last sixteen at the Mutua Madrid Open after beating the German Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-2 on the clay in the Manolo Santana Stadium to book a place in the next round against the Australian Samantha Stosur. The Canary Islander battled through flu-like symptoms and breathing problems on court, reasons for which she has withdrawn from the doubles competition, to earn her pass to the third round of the tournament. Having safely negotiated her first two matches, she is now the only Spanish player left in the women’s singles competition, the Suárez spoke about her match.
“I won and that’s the most important thing to me”, she said to the press, asked about how deep she had to dig. “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting a two-set match. I tried to stay in the moment, to take it point by point, game by game. She didn’t play her best match either and I was able to take advantage of that. It’s nice to win in two sets”.
Suárez, the eighth seed at the Caja Mágica, talked about how she was feeling on court. “Before taking to the court I felt much better than during the match. Maybe it was because of the heat. I felt weak and tired, but I battled… I was playing on automatic and barely thinking. When Xavi came on court I told him I didn’t feel well. He tried to get me to hold out and maybe we could get through the match, and that’s what happened”.
Asked if she considered withdrawing, Carla stated “Not in Madrid, but if it had been another tournament I would have considered it. This is a Mandatory tournament and we’re at home. I would have consulted my team, but as we’re in Madrid it never occurred to me”.
Next opponent: Samantha Stosur
Carla Suárez will be bidding for a place in the quarters against the Australian Samantha Stosur, who accessed the third round thanks to the withdrawal of Lucie Safarova. “Women’s tennis is very tight” said the Canary Islander. “This kind of result happens every week, players with a significantly lower ranking can beat the top players. But that doesn’t mean I have more chance. Whoever is winning, is doing so because they’re playing well”. “The most important match is the next one. It will be a tough one, she has a good serve, a great forehand and experience on tour. It’ll be a difficult game. I’ll try to recover a little this afternoon and tomorrow. I’ll have to fight like any other day”.
