Lulu Sun makes it through qualifying at Cincinnati

Lulu Sun will play against Linda Noskova from the Czech Republic in the first round of the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open having defeated Lucia Bronzetti 7-6(4) 6-3 in the final round of qualifying.

It was an impressive performance against the Italian world No 64, in what was just the third singles match Sun had played since reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.

Sun was able to break her opponent’s serve on four occasions during the match, while the Kiwi saved two set points on her serve, at 30-40 and 40-A when serving at 4-5.

But Sun came through that crucial moment to take the opening set in a tiebreak (she now has a 7 and 3 record in tiebreaks this year) and kept that momentum going during the second set.

By winning this match Sun, ranked 54 in the world, has made it into the main draw of a WTA 1000 tournament for just the second time in her career.

In Dubai in February, she defeated Paula Badosa in the first round, before losing to Jelena Ostapenko.

The 19-year-old Noskova is ranked 32 in the world and is seen as one of the rising stars in tennis. She reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in January, where she beat Iga Swiatek in the third round.

Sun will also play doubles in Cincinnati and has teamed up with Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic. In the first round, they will play Guo Hanyu from China and Romania’s Monica Niculescu.

Meanwhile, Erin Routliffe will partner with the American Asia Muhammad in Cincinnati as Gaby Dabrowski isn’t playing in this tournament.