2011 Sony Ericsson Open WTA Part 10: Shahar Pe'er
World Number 11 Shahar Pe’er
Shahar Pe’er is currently ranked World Number 11, and is the only Israeli tennis player in the history of the sport to be ranked so high. She achieved this ranking earlier this year, and has been part of the professional circuit
since 2004. Pe’er joined the Women’s Tennis Association six years ago, and has won a total of five WTA singles titles over the course of her pro career.
The Israeli pro has reached the quarterfinals of both the Australian Open and the US Open as a singles player, and has also made it to the title match of the Australian Open as a doubles player with Victoria Azarenka as her partner.
The player, who will turn 24 this May, plays defensive tennis and is known to have one of the best backhands on the women’s tour. It is her best shot, although her serve has improved greatly and is now one of her strongest assets.
In addition to this, she maintains control over the entire court and also has a great volley.
The Israeli pro made her first appearance at Miami in 2004, when she was ranked World Number 285. She could not move past the qualifying rounds, and was not given entry into the main draw.
However, she qualified for the main draw next year as World Number 135, and took on Marta Domachowska in the first round of the tournament. She defeated her opponent in three sets, and met French pro Marion Bartoli in the second
round. Although she defeated Bartoli, Pe’er went down in easy straights to Serena Williams in the third round.
Pe’er’s best performance at the Sony Ericsson Open was in 2007, when she participated in the tournament as World Number 16. She was seeded fourteenth, and received a bye in the first round to take on Columbian pro Catalina Castano
in the second round. She defeated her first opponent and went on to oust Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine, third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and Italian pro Tathiana Garbin to reach the semi-finals against thirteenth seed Serena Williams. The American pro defeated
her in straight sets with a fry.
The Israeli pro made her most recent appearance at the tournament in 2010, and she was seeded seventeenth at the event. The player received a bye in the first round, and took on Russian pro Alla Kudryavtseva in the second round.
She defeated her first opponent and went on suffer an easy defeat at the hands of Belgian pro Kim Clijsters in the third round.
This year, Shahar Pe’er was unable to match the results of her last showing at the tournament. She fell to unseeded player Anabel Medina Garrigues in the second round of the event.
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