Upper Austria Open in Linz: Britain’s Jodie Burrage continues fine form to reach last 16 | Tennis News
Jodie Burrage continued her fine form at the Upper Austria Open in Linz by beating French seventh seed Varvara Gracheva in straight sets to reach the last 16.
The British No 2, who came through two qualifying rounds, sealed her first main draw win of the season in the 6-4 6-0 success against the world No 43 and faces Romanian Jaqueline Cristian or Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska on Wednesday.
Burrage lost her opening service game to trail 2-0 in the first set, but hit back to level it up and a decisive break in the seventh game put her 4-3 ahead before she confidently served out to take it 6-4.
The world No 102 maintained her momentum in the second set, breaking Gracheva immediately and saving a break point against her in the next game.
That put her 2-0 up and after racing into a 5-0 lead, Burrage saved three more break points in the sixth game to bagel her opponent.
Burrage qualified for the main draw in Linz by fighting back from a set down to beat Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam 5-7 6-3 6-2 on Monday, having overcome Colombia’s Emiliana Arango 6-1 6-4 in the first qualifying round.
She joins Katie Boulter in the last 16 with her fellow Brit set to play Russia’s world No 42 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also on Wednesday – live on Sky Sports.
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Miami Open to include wheelchair tennis and pickleball
The Miami Open will feature an elite wheelchair event and Major League Pickleball this year, alongside the regularly scheduled Masters 1000 event.
Wheelchair tennis has been played at all four Grand Slams since 2007 but this will be the first time it is included in a 1000 series tournament.
Pickleball, a fast-paced paddle sport with a perforated ball, has its own league in the region and is the fastest-growing sport in the United States.
Its inclusion may further boost its popularity and expand the tennis fan base as well by bringing more fans together at one tournament.
The Miami Open runs from March 17 to 31 – live on Sky Sports Tennis. The wheelchair tennis matches will be held March 26-28 and Major League Pickleball will be held March 27-29.
How to watch play on Sky Sports Tennis
The stars of tennis will appear on the new Sky Sports Tennis channel every day
Sky Sports has confirmed a new home for tennis in the UK and Ireland, with Sky Sports Tennis set to launch on Sky and NOW from February 11, making tennis content available all day, every day for fans.
Sky Sports will broadcast more live tennis than anywhere else, bringing over 4,000 matches from more than 80 tournaments a year on the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as full coverage of the US Open, all exclusively live.
Non-Sky subscribers can stream live matches with a NOW Sports Day and Month Membership, via Sky Sports Tennis, Sky Sports Arena, and Sky Sports Mix channels.
Take a look at Sky Sports’ brilliant new tennis advert! Don’t forget, play starts on February 11
For further access, news and results, fans will also be able to follow the sport and their favourite players via Sky Sports News, the Sky Sports app, on skysports.com and via Sky Sports social channels.
Watch the WTA and ATP Tours throughout 2024 on Sky Sports. Stream tennis and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership
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