Vicky Jiménez Advances to Mérida Open Round of 16 with Upset Win Over Putintseva

Andorran tennis player Vicky Jiménez has advanced to the round of 16 at the WTA500 Mérida Open in Mexico after defeating Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in a second-round match lasting 2 hours and 32 minutes on hard courts.

Putintseva, ranked 77th in the WTA standings and a former top-30 player who reached the Australian Open round of 16 this year, surged to a 3-0 lead in the opening set. Jiménez fought back with four straight games, including two breaks of serve, to take a 4-3 edge. She then converted her first set point with Putintseva serving to claim the set 6-4.

Jiménez opened the second set with a hold but struggled afterward, as Putintseva won the next six games for a 1-6 victory. The decider featured multiple breaks, with Putintseva pulling ahead 4-2. Jiménez responded by taking the final four games to win 6-4 on her first match point, delivering one of the standout victories of her WTA career.

Currently ranked between 119th and 122nd, Jiménez entered the main draw via qualifying. She beat Croatia's Katarina Jokic 6-2, 6-4 in the first round, then dispatched Italy's Miriana Tona (384th-386th) 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour and 33 minutes. Against Tona, Jiménez secured two early breaks for a 6-3 first set and raced to 4-0 in the second, holding firm despite a late fightback to close on her second match point.

Jiménez, the third seed in qualifying, now faces the winner of Poland's Magda Linette (47th) and Germany's Tatjana Maria (55th), scheduled later.