On Italian sand

Julia Grabher fought her way into the round of 16

Ländle ace Julia Grabher reached the round of 16 at the ITF W35 tournament in Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy, but fought an exciting duel with Frenchwoman Sara Cakarevic. 

After Julia Grabher had successfully made it through qualifying at the ITF W35 tournament in Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy, which has prize money of 25,000 dollars, the Dornbirn player was now able to celebrate her first victory in the main competition.

Grabher got off to a perfect start against France's Sara Cakarevic, breaking straight away for 2:0. It didn't go quite as smoothly, but the 28-year-old still took the first set 6:3.

In the second set, the Ländle ace quickly trailed 0:2. Grabher responded promptly - after two quick breaks and confident service games, she made it 3:2, then played the set cleanly and won 6:3 and 6:3 in 1:49 hours of play. 

The sixth seed from the Netherlands, Eva Vedder, now awaits Grabher in the quarter-finals.