Carol Meligeni and Thaisa Pedretti advance to the round of 16 at the Rio Ladies Open

Two Brazilians advanced to the round of 16 of the Rio Ladies Open, a WTA 125 tournament in Rio de Janeiro, held at the Techset Academy in Barra da Tijuca. Carol Meligeni and Thaisa Pedretti join Gabriela Cé in the next stage of the competition, which awards US$115,000 in prizes and 125 WTA world ranking points.

This Wednesday (15), starting at 3 pm, Gabriela Cé seeks a place in the quarterfinals against Georgian Ekaterine Gorgodze. Another highlight of the round will be the debut of Laura Pigossi and Ingrid Martins, seeded number 1 in doubles, who face fellow Brazilians Sofia Mendonça and Leticia Vidal, not before 5 pm.

Carol Meligeni opened the center court program this Tuesday (14) with a solid victory over Colombian Maria Paulina Perez Garcia, by double 6/1.

"I'm very happy with my game today. The first round is always a little more tense. I've been playing against her since I was little at COSAT. It's been really cool to be able to play here in Rio, with fans, in this first edition of the tournament. I'm very happy to be here, to have been able to play well, to do several important things in today's game. Now it's time to continue living the tournament and improving with each match," said Carol, who faces Austrian Sinja Kraus, seed 6, in the round of 16, only on Thursday (16).

Thaisa Pedretti secured her first WTA tournament victory. Coming from qualifying, the São Paulo native defeated Chilean Antonia Vergara Rivera 7-6 6-4.

"I'm very happy with my first WTA victory. I've worked hard to get to this point. Today I knew it would be a tough match. Antonia is coming off great results, she's very solid and a fighter. In the first set, I was behind, I started a little nervous, but I managed to control my emotions and find my game. In the second set, I opened up a lead, and even after losing four games in a row, I kept my cool and managed to close it out. I'm very happy and now it's time to move on to the next round," said Pedretti, who faces third-seeded Austrian Julia Grabher, Laura Pigossi's tormentor.

* Results for this Tuesday (14) *

Singles - 1st round

Carolina Alves (BRA) d. [Q] Maria Paulina Perez Garcia (COL) - 6/1 6/1

Ekaterine Gorgodze (GEO) d. [2] Panna Udvardy (HUN) - 7/6 6/3

Martina Colmegna (ITA) d. [4] Maria Lourdes Carle (ARG) - 6/2 6/2

[Q] Martina Capurro Taborda (ARG) d. [WC] Pietra Rivoli (BRA) - 6/1 6/4

[Q] Thaisa Grana Pedretti (BRA) d. [WC] Antonia Vergara Rivera (CHI) - 7/6 6/4

[3] Julia Grabher (AUT) d. Laura Pigossi (BRA) - 7/6(5) 7/6(2)

[1] Simona Waltert (SUI) d. Luisina Giovannini (ARG) - 6/2 3/6 6/1

[6] Sinja Kraus (AUT) d. [Q] Julia Konishi Camargo Silva (BRA) - 6/0 6/0

Doubles - 1st round

Ana Candiotto (BRA) / Julia Riera (ARG) d. Jazmin Ortenzi (ARG) / Maria Paulina Perez Garcia (COL) - 6/1 6/3

Carole Monnet (FRA) / Sada Nahimana (BDI) d. Carolina Alves (BRA) / Gabriela Cé (BRA) - 6/1 6/3

[3] Leyre Romero Gormaz (ESP)/Tara Wuerth (CRO) d. Allura Zamarripa (USA) / Maribella Zamarripa (USA) - 6/4 6/2

* Schedule for this Wednesday (15): *

Central Court

3pm

Alice Rame (FRA) vs Irene Burillo (ESP)

Next

Gabriela Cé (BRA) vs Ekaterine Gorgodze (GEO)

Not before 5pm

[1] Ingrid Martins (BRA) / Laura Pigossi (BRA) vs [WC] Sofia da Cruz Mendonca (BRA) / Leticia Vidal (BRA)

Not before 7pm

Julia Konishi Camargo Silva (BRA) / Rebeca Pereira (BRA) vs [4] Irene Burillo (ESP) / Ekaterine Gorgodze (GEO)

Block 1

Eva Vedder (NED) vs Tara Wuerth (CRO)

Not before 6pm

Tina Smith (AUS) / Miriana Tona (ITA) vs Martina Colmegna (ITA) / Alice Rame (FRA)

Andrea Gamiz (VEN) / Eva Vedder (NED) vs Luiza Fullana (BRA) / Thaisa Pedretti (BRA)

Block 2

3pm

Anastasia Zolotareva vs Sada Nahimana (BDI)

* Tickets on sale *

Tickets for the Rio Ladies Open are still on sale at www.rioladiesopen.com

The Rio Ladies Open is sponsored by MundoTênis Tours, ENGIE Brasil, BRB, and Decathlon. Organized by: MundoTênis Tours. Co-organized by: Brazilian Tennis Confederation.