Anne Keothavong, Karin Knapp move into main draw – Luxembourg Open 2011
Qualifying seventh seed, Anne Keothavong from Great Britain sailed into the main draw of the 2011 BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open on Monday, 17th October. The Brit enjoyed a simple, straight sets victory upsetting qualifying
top seed, Lucie Hradecka. Taking only sixty six minutes, the Brit was able to secure a twin 6-3, 6-3 win over the Czech and a berth in the main draw of the event.
This was the pair’s second meeting ever in their careers. The two had recently played each other in the qualifying rounds of the 2006 Roland Garros. The Czech had then enjoyed a similar straight sets victory over the Brit to take
the lead in the head-to-head score. However, this time round, the Brit was better prepared and more experienced. She undid the Czech with much ease to level the head-to-head score.
In a competitive yet easy match, Keothavong opened serve in the first set only and made her way onto the scoreboard. Knapp followed the Brit’s footsteps. With each of the two winning on their respective serves, the scoreboard kept
tied for the first six games. Standing at 4-3, Keothavong broke the Czech in the eighth game to lead the score 5-3 before serving out the set to secure a 6-3 win.
A repetition of the first set, the second set followed the same pattern as the first in the second set. The pair managed to keep the scoreboard ticking on even terms for the first six games. Determined to end the match in straight
sets, Keothavong kicked into high gear in the seventh game as she broke the Czech for a 4-3 lead. A successful hold of serve later, the Brit had gone two games up before breaking her opponent for the final time to secure another 6-3 win.
The Brit hit five aces and only one double fault coupled with an impressive 75 percent first serve win to ensure a straight sets win and a berth in the main draw of the event. She moves on ahead to play local wildcard entrant Mandy
Minella.
Joining Keothavong in the main draw is Italian Karin Knapp. Unseeded in the qualifying draw, Knapp upset qualifying fifth seeded Greek Eleni Daniilidou in the final qualifying round to move into the main draw of the event. The
lower ranked Italian took a total of one hour and twenty two minutes to secure a 6-1, 7-5 win over the Greek.
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