Canberra doesn't cramp Cabrera's style, but China did

Lizette Cabrera needed a wheelchair to get off the court, but the Australian rising star said it looked worse than it was.

Although as she started to recall the full-body cramps she suffered in China in September it was worse than she said it was.

There weren't any repeats of those cramps when she beat second-seed Gabriella Taylor 6-4 0-6 6-2 to progress to the second round of the Canberra International at Lyneham on Wednesday.

Lizette Cabrera knocked out the second seed to advance to the second round of the Canberra International.

Lizette Cabrera knocked out the second seed to advance to the second round of the Canberra International.Credit:Ben Southall

She also teamed up with Jaimee Fourlis to win her opening-round doubles clash against Seone Mendez and Alexandra Osborne 6-2 6-3.

Cabrera will now play fellow countrywoman Isabelle Wallace in the second round of the US$60,000 tournament.

She put the win down to her mental toughness in the first set.

The Townsville product's becoming something of a regular at the National Tennis Centre, with this her third tournament there this year and she's again staying with the same "really nice lady".

"I was just really mentally tough in the first set and I didn't really give much away. That really helped me win in the end," Cabrera said.

While she came off court smiling on Wednesday, it was a different story when she was playing Yafan Wang in qualifying for the Wuhan Open in China in September.

Cabrera posted a picture of herself in a wheelchair after the match.

Recalling the incident, she said it looked worse than it was with body cramps simply the problem.

Most of us know the feeling of one muscle cramping, but not when it's happening all over.

For 45 minutes her body was racked with pain as all her muscles cramped at once, with ice and massage needed so she could walk again.

"It wasn't as serious as it looked. I just went to full body cramp and couldn't walk," she said.

"It was a tough match, but I felt like if I didn't cramp I would've been able to win the match. But it was nothing like a major injury, just really bad body cramp.

"Your whole body tightens up and your muscles are bulging out where you're flexing as hard as you can without controlling it.

"It's so painful and you can't walk. It's extreme pain. It only lasted 45 minutes – it was pretty long actually.

"The physios on the court were rubbing my legs down and the next match after me couldn't go on because I was still on the court … it was real hectic."

Cabrera earned a wild card for this year's US Open, where she lost 6-4 6-1 to Alja Tomljanovic in the opening round.

She felt making the main draw of one of the majors had helped her game significantly.

"Another main draw to play in, which is huge for my confidence. I felt like it helped with my belief that I do belong at that level," Cabrera said.

"I thought it was really nice. The cash was also nice too, it was a nice little pay cheque."

Meanwhile, Canberra's Alison Bai bowed out in the opening round, losing 6-3 7-6 to wild-card Olivia Tjandramulia.

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