Sara Errani's still got it.
The 36-year-old former Roland Garros finalist showed off some of her old defensive magic in the first round of the Transylvania Open en route to a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Caty McNally.
Errani seemed to be virtually out of a point in the second set as McNally shaped up at net to put away a smash. The American got power behind it -- but Errani had anticipated her direction. With her back almost literally against the wall of the court, the Italian leapt up to respond with an overhead of her own.
McNally's net reflexes enabled her to extend the point further, but it was Errani -- the Linz doubles champion last week alongside Jasmine Paolini -- who got the better of the forecourt battle with a perfectly weighted lob.
That point gave Errani break points for a 4-2 lead in the second set, which she converted for a lead that McNally could not claw back. It wasn't the only stellar point of the match, either: Errani also excelled with delicate drop shots and fine volleys en route to victory.
Watch full highlights: Errani d. McNally
The result was No.98-ranked Errani's first tour-level win on indoor hard courts since defeating Julie Coin in the first round of Luxembourg 2015. She will next face No.2 seed Tatjana Maria as she bids to reach her first indoor hard-court quarterfinal since Paris 2014, where she was runner-up to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
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