Lyon: Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremska, who fled from her home country, last week, saved two match points to win a grueling match at the WTA event in Lyon on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old, who was awarded a wildcard for the tournament before Ukraine was invaded by Russia, beat Romania’s Ana Bogdan 3-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (9/7) after over three hours on court in the first round.
Yastremska fell to the ground in tears after finally securing victory on her fourth match point, before a warm embrace with Bogdan at the net.
She celebrated in front of the crowd with a Ukrainian flag draped around her shoulders.
Yastremska, a former top-20 player now ranked 140th, played doubles with her 15-year-old sister Ivanna in Lyon on Monday.
Afterward, she spoke of how she was “woken up by bombs” when Russia invaded Ukraine last week, before embarking on an arduous journey to France.
Her father and mother remained in Ukraine after saying goodbye to their daughters when they crossed the Danube by boat to reach Romania.
On Tuesday, Yastremska battled back after losing the opening set, saving a match point in the second before taking it in a tiebreak.
There was more drama in the deciding-set breaker as she saw three consecutive match points come and go, before saving another on Bogdan’s serve and going on to win.
Yastremska will face Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in the last 16 on Wednesday.