Ajla Tomljanovic, Alexandra Stevenson reach the main draw – AEGON Classic 2011
Croat tennis-pro Alja Tomljanovic earned a hard fought 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4 victory against Abigail Spears of United States to make it to the main draw of 2011 AEGON Classic tennis championships in Birmingham.
Spears had a solid start to the contest but as the match progressed, she lost confidence in her shots and committed a large number of unforced errors. Tomljanovic wasted minimal chances during the contest and made her opponent
pay heavily for her mistakes.
The first set was played on an extremely competitive note with both players putting in a lot of effort to get the better of each other. After the contestants traded serve breaks, the set went into a tie-breaker. Being the more
experienced at international level, Spears showed no signs of nerves in the tie-breaker and claimed crucial points on her opponent’s serve to earn 6-4 lead in the tie-breaker. She converted the first set point with a gorgeous backhand winner cross court and
took the set score lead 1-0.
Seeded fifth at the tournament, Tomljanovic made a great fight back in the second set. She served with control and accuracy as she made the only serve break of the set. Every time she was in trouble, she managed to hit her way
out of it as she dented her opponent’s confidence levels. Holding on to her service games without any problem, the Croat managed to shift the balance of the match.
Tomljanovic continued to display some high quality tennis in the final set as well showing her mental abilities and grass court skills. She executed her game plan to perfection and broke her opponent in one of the games to take
5-3 lead in the set. Securing three straight points on her serve, she set up three match points for herself and then converted the first one with a brilliant forehand winner to complete an emphatic victory.
Number eleven seed American Alexandra Stevenson also secured a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 win over Julia Glushko of Israel her at the Edgbaston Priory Club on Sunday.
Ranked 240th in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings, Stevenson looked in a hurry as the match started. She broke the serve at regular intervals in the opening set and did not allowing the challenger to breath. The
second set also followed a very similar pattern with Stevenson dominating almost all aspects of the game. Breaking the serve for the fourth time in the match, she ended the match in great style.
Glushko had a lot of trouble converting with her serve. She achieved a mere 33 percent first serve conversion thus allowing her opponent to dictate terms.
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