Agnieszka Radwanska ousts Francesca Schiavone at 2011 Sony Ericsson Open
Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland crushed world number 4 Francesca Schiavone in straight sets 6-0, 6-2 on Monday to book her place in the quarterfinals of 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.
The Polish tennis-pro looked in commanding form in the fourth round match at Key Biscayne, Florida as she dropped only a couple of games to complete an almost perfect victory over the Italian. Radwanska dominated the challenger
in a completely one-sided first set breaking the serve on three occasions. She smashed powerful forehands and backhands all over the court to put her opponent under extreme pressure. Schiavone looked out of sorts in the opener and made critical mistakes.
The second set followed a similar pattern as well. Radwanska played with confidence and freedom and handled the pressure brilliantly. Although the Polish lost one of the games on her serve early in the set, she came back strongly
and won five straight games against the challenger. The 22 year old converted the very first match point to earn an emphatic victory after only 1 hour and 8 minutes of play.
Radwanska looked to be the better of two players in almost all aspects of the game. She took advantage of her opponent’s weak second serve as she won 65 percent of the points on return. She served brilliantly and achieved 67 percent
first serve conversion. Ranked 14th in the world, Radwanska made most of the opportunities presented to her during the contest and converted 6 out 10 match points. This was the first win for Radwanska against her Italian opponent. Schiavone had
defeated Radwanska comfortably in their all of their previous four meetings.
Radwanska has been in decent form since the start of the season. She reached the quarterfinals at 2011 Australian Open losing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters and then made it to the last 8 at 2011 Dubai Duty Free. Radwanska
has played exceptionally well at the ATP Masters 1000 Sony Ericsson tournament as well winning all of her matches in straight sets and will be hoping to lift her first Women’s Tennis Association title of the year. However she will have to be at her very
best to overcome world number three Vera Zvonareva in her next quarterfinal match-up.
Schiavone on the other hand, would be disappointed with her effort. She has given considerable results over the last few months. Just over a week ago she made it to the fourth round at Indian Wells however, it is obviously difficult
for the 30 year old to perform consistently in a tight WTA tournament’s schedule. Considering her ability, temperament and experience, she is expected to make a strong come back to the tour.
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