Vancouver’s Marino defeats Barthel at Phillip Island Trophy opening round

MELBOURNE, Australia – Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino needed less than an hour to defeat German Mona Barthel 6-4, 6-3 in the Phillip Island Trophy’s opening round Sunday.

Marino hit eight aces through two sets and won nearly 78 per cent of her first service points while defeating the German in 57 minutes.

The two players squared off against each other in the Koddaert Ladies Open in Belgium back in 2010. Barthel won that match 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Last week, Marino participated in her first Grand Slam match in eight years with her first round appearance at the Australian Open.

She defeated Great Britain’s Kim Birrell 6-0, 7-6 (11-9) in the Grand Slam’s opening round before losing to Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in her second round match.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2021.