Anne Keothavong overwhelms Mona Barthel to reach final qualifying round – Generali Ladies Linz 2011
British tennis player Anne Keothavong overwhelmed Mona Barthel of Germany 6-2, 7-6 (4) on Sunday, 9th October to reach the final round of 2011 Generali Ladies Linz qualification draw here in Austria. Keothavong struggled
to execute her game plan in a match that lasted for more than 1 hour and 41 minutes.
Although Keothavong secured the opening set quite comfortably, she was unable to time the ball throughout the second set. Barthel, on the other hand, failed to take advantage of her opponent’s weak serve. Despite taking the second
set into a tie-breaker, she could not convert easy scoring opportunities and she paid the ultimate price.
Keothavong had a great start to the match as she won her first service game with four straight points. Returning serves brilliantly, she adopted a very aggressive approach at the receiving end. Breaking the serve in fourth game
of the opening set, she raced to 3-1 lead. Barthel had her chances but her weak serves always meant that she was fighting a lost battle.
Ranked 96th in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings, Keothavong broke serve for the second time in seventh game of the set to earn an impassable 5-2 lead. Hitting a stunning backhand winner down the line on her next
service game, she made two set points available to her and then converted the first one to clinch the opener and take 1-0 set score lead.
Barthel fought back well in the following set. Raising the level of her game play, she created all sorts of problems for her rival from deep behind the baseline. Exchanging serve breaks with the challenger, she displayed some high
quality tennis. Forcing the set into a tie-breaker, she had a great chance to come back into the contest.
However, under pressure, execution went out of her game as she started to make unforced errors. Keothavong grabbed opportunities with both hands as she clinched the tie-breaker 7-4 to ensure her victory in straight sets. Keothavong
will be very pleased with the way she played against a class player. Defeating a player ranked much higher than her in world rankings, she will be feeling very confident about her game play.
To continue her impressive run, Keothavong will have to bring considerable improvement in serve department of the game. The Brit managed to hit only 54 per cent first serve and she converted only four out sixteen break points in
the match. Other top seeded players may not let her get away with her unforced errors.
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