With winds gusting up to 30 mph, players at The MPS Group Championships, a claycourt WTA event held at Ponte Vedra in Florida this week, had a tough time adjusting their gameplay in order to make it through the second round.
Top seed Nadia Petrova of Russia progressed after defeating Olga Govortsova in two sets (6-2, 6-4).
“It is really rare for it to get that windy,” Petrova said after the match.
“It was difficult, very difficult. The tennis you play in this kind of condition is to put more balls in the court. It is pretty difficult to play great, beautiful tennis. You have to keep it very simple and very smart,” she added.
Other first round winners include second seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and eighth seed Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Former top 10 player Daniela Hantuchova heroically saved three match points to overcome Anastasija Sevastova (2-6, 6-4, 7-6).
“I don’t remember the last time the wind was this bad,” the Slovak player shared.
