THOUGH perhaps not as well known as some other rising stars on the WTA Tour, Frenchwoman Clara Burel is a 21-year-old with plenty of potential. The world number 106 was in action on the clay at Lausanne, Switzerland, though not for very long. She seemed to be in a hurry as she completely dismantled China’s Lin Zhu in a dominant 6-0 6-1 performance in just 46 minutes.

Burel served four aces and only dropped one point off her first serve – and seven points off her serve in total, whilst breaking her 28-year-old opponent five times during the match. Boasting a 7-15 win-loss record in 2022, Burel has not had a consistent year, but the 21-year-old was at her best during the Round of 32 victory, with the pair evenly matched. Zhu was two spots higher than Burel, but the victory from the Frenchwoman will see her leapfrog into the Top 100 on the WTA Tour. The win was Burel’s first since the Morocco Open in May.

The 21-year-old will now take on fourth seed Sara Sorribes Tormo, who withstood a challenge from American Lauren Davis in the second set. Sorribes Tormo – who is arguably the favourite on the clay – won 6-2 7-6 to set up the Round of 16 matchup. In other parts of the draw, Swiss wildcard Susan Bandecchi picked up a win over another Frenchwoman Oceane Dodin the day before to potentially set up a clash with second seed and compatriot Belinda Bencic who clashes with Diane Parry. The first seed to fall in the draw was seventh seed Slovenian Tamara Zidansek, who went down to Russian Anna Kalinskaya in three sets.

Four tournaments are taking place across the WTA and ATP Tours post-Wimbledon, with a blockbuster clash in the first round at Bastad, Sweden. The ATP 250 event saw Swiss wildcard and Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka taking on fifth seed Pablo Carreno Busta. The more match-fit Carreno Busta proved too good for Wawrinka who is still only a handful of tournaments back into his return from injury, as the Spaniard won 7-5 6-4. Serbian Laslo Djere also defeated Italian young gun Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets.

AROUND THE TOUR RESULTS:

Bastad – ATP 250 | Clay

[5] Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) defeated [WC] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) 7-5 6-4
Laslo Djere (SRB) defeated [WC] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) 6-3 7-5
[WC] Elias Ymer (SWE) defeated Daniel Altmaier (GER) 6-4 7-6

Newport – ATP 250 | Grass

Steve Johnson (USA) defeated Stefan Kozlov (USA) 7-5 6-3
Jack Sock (USA) defeated Radu Albot (ROU) 6-1 7-6
Peter Gojowczyk (GER) defeated Ugo Humbert (FRA) 7-5 6-4
Jason Kubler (AUS) defeated Jordan Thompson (AUS) 6-2 6-3

Budapest – WTA 250 | Clay

[5] Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) defeated [Q] Fanny Stollar (HUN) 6-3 0-6 6-3
Kamilla Rakhimova (RUS) defeated [7] Elena-Gabriela Ruse (ROU) 6-4 6-7 6-3
Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) defeated [Q] Carolina Alves (BRA) 6-4 6-1
[Q] Kateryna Baindl (UKR) defeated [WC] Timea Babos (HUN) 6-4 6-3
[Q] Bernarda Pera (USA) defeated [LL] Marina Bassols Ribera (ESP) 6-2 7-5

Lausanne – WTA 250 | Clay

[4] Sara Sorribes Tormo (ESP) defeated Lauren Davis (USA) 6-2 7-6
Anna Kalinskaya (RUS) defeated [7] Tamara Zidansek (SLO) 7-6 3-6 6-3
Jule Niemeier (GER) defeated Ylena In-Albon (SUI) 7-5 6-7 6-3
Clara Burel (FRA) defeated Lin Zhu (CHN) 6-0 6-1
Anastasia Potapova (RUS) defeated Lucia Bronzetti (ITA) 6-2 3-6 6-4