Lulu Sun stuns top seed Iva Jovic to advance in Suzhou

Lulu Sun has stunned top seed Iva Jovic from the United States at the WTA 125 tournament in Suzhou, China.

Sun needed a special exemption to play in the tournament, as she wasn’t able to enter the qualifying draw, due to taking the title in Jingshan last weekend.

But she has backed up that strong form by beating Jovic 6-4 7-6(3), in a match that lasted one hour, 50 minutes. 

Sun served an impressive 13 aces during a match that only had one break of serve in it, despite the Kiwi having six break points and the American having five of them.

Once again, Sun played with confidence, went for her shots and kept the pressure on the world No 37 throughout the match.

By knocking out the No 1 seed, who has also confirmed she’ll play at the ASB Classic next year, Sun has opened up the draw for herself in Suzhou.

In the second round Sun plays against Victoria Jimenez Kas from Andorra, who is aged 20 and ranked 109 in the world.

Sun’s results in Jingshan last week moved her up from 146 in the world rankings, to around 125 when they’re next calculated. But another strong week in Suzhou will continue her climb up the rankings.

It’s likely the 24-year-old will need to be at around 105 in the world to make it into the main draw for the Australian Open in January.