Clara Tauson's string of defeats was finally broken on Monday when the 23-year-old Dane defeated Russian French Open semi-finalist Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-4 in the WTA 500 tournament in Bad Homburg.
With temperatures around 30 degrees celcius in Germany, Tauson played with cool vision and smart decisions on the grass. It gave her her first victory after more than three months with seven consecutive defeats.
"It was really hot. I tried to focus on one point at a time. I really felt the heat, and beating Diana is a great achievement for me", said Tauson in her winning interview, according to TV 2 Sport.
The Dane revealed in May that she has been battling two herniated discs, but on Monday, she did not look inhibited in any way. On the contrary, she was more proactive and mobile than her opponent for most of the match.
Both Tauson and Shnaider initially struggled with their service games, which resulted in four break points for each in the first set.
Tauson still managed to win her first service game despite a 0-40 deficit and then subsequently broke to make it 2-1 with a nice lob over the Russian.
From there on, Tauson made good use of her excellent serve. She made four aces and, in general, put good pressure on the sometimes sluggish Shnaider.
History repeated itself in the second set. Tauson was aggressive, and after a nice lob, she broke to claim the first game.
Shnaider broke back immediately after the worst Danish game of the match, but a persistent and concentrated Tauson reclaimed the lead with a break to make it 2-1 against an increasingly frustrated Russian.
Tauson broke again for 4-1 and seemed headed for a certain victory before she got a minor scare when she slipped on the grass and Shnaider reduced the deficit to stay alive.
However, with a strong first serve, Tauson had no problems in securing the win after about 1 hour and 45 minutes of encouraging play.
In the second round, Tauson will face either the Argentinian Solana Sierra or Zheng Qinwen.
