Alberta Brianti lifts maiden trophy at the 2011 Grand Prix De SAR
Unseeded Italian pro Alberta Brianti surprised spectators at the 2011 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, ousting seventh seed Simona Halep in straight sets to claim
her first WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) title. The Italian pro needed only seventy seven minutes to get past third-ranked Romanian, who was broken seven times during the match. The 31-year-old Italian had to wait before claiming her first title as the rain
halt the proceedings during the game.
The 31-year-old Brianti made the most noticeable performance of her career at the 2009 Guangzhou where she reached the final spot of WTA tournament for the first time in
her career, beating the seventh seed Ayumi Morita, 6-3, 7-5, before losing in straight sets to fifth seed Shahar Peer of Israel.
The Italian pro came through in straight sets against Halep, who was playing the Grand Prix title match for the second time in her career which she lost to the Czech Iveta
Benesova in straight sets. Brianti has been part of the WTA since 2000, and had not won a single title for eleven years. This was a breakthrough performance for the player, who just lost a single set over the course of competition. She concluded her victory
at this title match with an overhead smash to win an impressive 57 per cent of the total points in the match.
The Italian pro had been definitely nervous before the match, although her victory against the Russian Anastasia Pivovarova definitely given her a boost of confidence. She
entered the field and performed beyond everyone’s expectations to clinch her first WTA title.
The Italian got off to a great start, using her one handed backhand spins to great effect with the Romanian unable to get a good read on her opponent. The Italian pro was
quite comfortable winner over Halep who put only 62 percent of her first serves into play and didn’t do enough in the rallies to compete with the Italian. Brianti was the better player in the rallies gaining 47 percent on her second serves whereas the Romanian
gained only 35 percent of her second serves points and hit six double faults on her way to a defeat.
Brianti brought Halep’s fifth match winning sequence to an end with a straight sets victory over the Romanian, who just won 43 percent points in total as compared to Brianti’s
57 percent. The Italian pro served well and displayed her magnificent tennis skills, while Halep struggled to find her momentum and failed to hit through the rain sodden court.
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