2011 French Open: Sara Errani stages a marvellous comeback to clinch opener
Italian tennis-pro Sara Errani showed remarkable fighting spirit and determination as she came back from a 5-0 deficit in the final set to clinch victory over Christina McHale of United States 6-7 (4), 6-2, 9-7. Errani waited for
her opponent to make mistakes and finally prevailed in a seesaw struggle against the American on Monday.
Both players looked to attack one another as the match started. Errani served with great accuracy and reached an excellent 91 per cent first serve conversion. After serve breaks were exchanged by the contestants, the set went into
a tie-breaker. McHale held her nerves and clinched four straight points in the tie-breaker to take the set score lead 1-0.
Errani played with better temperament in the following set. Despite being under immense pressure, she was able to execute her game plan to perfection. She up her game play and managed to hold on to her service games very comfortably.
The Italian then converted two out of four break chances during the set to gain a considerable lead. She smashed a stunning backhand winner down the line to set up two set points for her and then secured the first one to shift the balance of the match.
McHale looked on a completely different planet early in the decider. She penetrated her opponent’s game play brilliantly and displayed some high quality tennis to take a significant lead in the set. The American looked on course
to a famous victory before, Errani, who is regarded as one of the tour’s toughest competitors, started to find a way back into the contest. The Italian used her vast experience at the international level to great effect and broke the serve at regular intervals
to ensure a place in the second round of prestigious Women’s Tennis Association Majors tournament.
McHale was disappointed with her effort as she let the opportunities slip away, having done all the hard work to gain momentum in the match. In a post match interview, she admitted that she failed to handle the pressure.
“I think I just panicked,” McHale told reporters who asked why she was unable to hold on to her 5-0 lead in the set. “I started losing a couple of games. Yeah, I panicked, I didn’t take my time. “
She further added, “Right now it feels awful, but hopefully in a couple of days I hope to take something from this so it won’t happen again.”
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