Rebecca Marino upsets Lulu Sun in first round of ASB Classic

Rebbeca Marino (Robbie Saurus, Wikimedia Commons)

Rebecca Marino of Toronto, Ontario delivered a shocking upset over New Zealand’s Lulu Sun in the first round of the 2025 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand on Monday. Marino, the 102nd ranked player in the world, defeated Sun, the 40th ranked player, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

In a match that lasted one hour and 41 minutes, Marino had seven aces compared to five aces for Sun. Marino also had the edge when it came to second serve points won. Marino won 50% of second serve points (17 of 34), compared to 43.3% of second serve points won by Sun (13 of 30).

This was the first time Marino ever played Sun. The win was significant not only because Marino beat Sun in her home country of New Zealand, but because Sun reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2024, where Sun upset the Olympic gold medalist and Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zhang of China 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the first round and 2021 United States Open champion Emma Raducanu of Great Britain 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in the fourth round.

Marino will next face American Bernarda Pera in the second round. Pera is 71st in the world and reached the fourth round of the French Open in 2023. This will be the first time Pera and Marino have faced each other head to head.

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