Alberta Brianti defeats Melanie Oudin to reach semis at the 2011 Grand Prix De SAR
Alberta Brianti continued her impressive run on the red clay courts of Fes as she thrashed out American hope, Melanie Oudin 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 on Friday to reach her first semifinal of the season at 2011 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse
Lalla Meryem in Morocco.
In her previous match at the Women’s Tennis Association tournament, Brianti ousted Russian Ksenia Pervak 7-5, 6-2. The 31-year-old must have taken a lot of confidence from her win as she executed her game plan to perfection.
The Italian has had a terrible time on the WTA tour since the start of this season. She fell in the first round at Auckland and then was knocked out in second round play of the Australian Open. Her poor run on the tour continued
as she experienced first round losses at several WTA tournaments. Pattaya City, Dubai, Doha, Kuala Lumpur and Marbella all brought disappointment for the Italian tennis-pro. However, here at Morocco Open she has certainly up her game play and displayed some
high quality tennis en route to the semifinal.
The match was played on a highly competitive note as both players exchanged several long rallies. Oudin made the first serve break in third game of the opening set to dent her opponent’s confidence levels. Brianti showed great
mental ability and determination to break back with four straight points. The Italian had another chance of breaking the serve in tenth game of the set to gain the game score advantage 6-4. She then held on to her next serve game to take the set score lead
1-0.
Oudin looked a bit out of sorts in the opener. However, in the following set she organized her game and played a lot better tennis. The 19-year-old American converted most of the chances that came her way and made the challenger
run for her money with her aggressive intent. Oudin broke the serve twice in the set as she shifted the balance of the match.
The final set was expected to be an exciting and interesting one. However, Brianti showed her class and smashed her forehand backhand shots all over the court. In addition to a strong attacking skill, Brianti had a formidable defense
as well which allowed her to save nine out 12 break points against her. She established firm control over the contest by playing her natural game freely. Brianti did not drop a game in the set and converted her very first match point to complete her deserving
victory in a match that lasted for more than 2 hour and 45 minutes.
Oudin on the other hand struggled to handle the pressure and committed quite a few unforced errors in the process. She had her chances to break the serve but managed to convert only a few of them and hence paid the price.
Tags: