Tyra Grant shines in Rovereto, Tathiana Garbin expounds on her future
Tathiana Garbin was also there in the stands of the PalaBaldresca in Rovereto (Trento), home of the Rovereto Open: the captain of the Italian team, defending champion of the Billie Jean King Cup, had the opportunity to observe some of the most interesting talents involved in the WTA 125 tournament in the Vallagarina city, among whom 17-year-old Tyra Grant stands out.
The’rising star of Italian tennis already convinced in her first outing, beating Maria Timofeeva, the tournament’s No. 5 seed and No. 146 WTA, with a double 6-3. Regarding her performance, Garbin did not mince words: “Tyra Grant has everything: talent, mentality and a great team. But we need to grow her up without rushing her”.
Garbin also spoke encouragingly of 19-year-old Noemi Basiletti, who despite coming off a loss did well against the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Darja Semenistaja, a 7-6(2), 6-2 winner: “She too – said the Azzurri captain on the sidelines of the day of matches at PalaBaldresca – has significant potential”.
Of the other Italian athletes involved in Rovereto, not only Tyra Grant, but also Lucrezia Stefanini and Silvia Ambrosio celebrated first-round success, with the latter winning the ‘derby’ against Samira De Stefano. Out, however, in addition to Basiletti and De Stefano, were Elisa Visentin and Aurora Zantedeschi.
