Marino Gains Direct Entry To Charleston But Drops Opener

Written by: Staff on 5th April 2011

Marino Gains Direct Entry To Charleston But Drops Opener |

The clay court season is kicking off this week and Rebecca Marino (Vancouver, BC) is already beginning her preparations for Roland-Garros at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, a WTA Premier event.

For the first time in her young career, Marino has earned direct entry into the main draw of a WTA Premier tournament. She faced world no. 56 Elena Vesnina of Russia in the opening round today. With only two ranking spots separating the two players, the match was close throughout. Marino started off on the right foot, but her opponent was able to bring her game to another level after losing the first set in a tiebreak. The 20-year-old Canadian ultimately fell 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3 in just over two hours. Marino will continue to train on clay over the next few days before traveling to Slovenia to represent Canada in Fed Cup on April 16 and 17.