Aravane Rezai defeats Arantxa Rus to reach second round at Grand Prix SAR in Morocco
Top seed Aravane Rezai routed Arantxa Rus of Netherlands 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday at the Grand Prix Sar in Morocco. Rezai struggled with her first set loss and wrapped up the victory taking two hours and thirty three minutes of
play.
Ranked 24th, Rezai was very nimble throughout the contest, completely blowing away the 20-year-old opponent out of the $220,000 WTA (Women’s tennis Association) tournament. She made her most noticeable performance at
the tournament in 2008. Seeded fourth then, the French woman produced spectacular results and defeated competent players like Vania King, Rossana de los Rios and Alisa Kleybanova to reach the fourth round of the tournament. Her run was put to an end at the
hands of defending champion Gisela Dulko of Argentina in two thrilling sets 7-6(2), 7-6(5).
The Dutch pro started off great against the French. She didn’t commit any double fault and fired in 60 percent of her first serves. Rezai on the other hand, had a sluggish start to the opener, committing two double faults and just
50 percent of her first serves. Rezai didn’t have much energy and couldn’t concentrate to bounce back her opponent. The 20-year-old Dutch put her higher ranked opponent under immense pressure and broke her in the fifth and third game to clinch the set with
a 6-4 score line.
However, the second and final set didn’t have the same story at all. It was Rezai’s turn now to test her opponent’s determination and strength in the following sets. The French pro used her powerful strokes to great effect and
moved past her Dutch opponent with a loss of just seven games.
The 20-year-old Dutch entered the second set with high hopes but unfortunately she couldn’t break back and lost 4-6. She was completely out of her form, granting plenty of opportunities to her French opponent. Rus served with
just 59 percent accuracy, conceding five double faults and winning 14 of 24 serves points in the first set. Rezai on the other hand, had a lot of opportunities in the game and she absolutely availed them with her stunning defensive shots. She scored 46 of
86 points in total and concluded the second set with 1-1 lead.
Both players stepped in the decider with high hopes to perform better. But the final set saw the 24-year-old French leading again with 6-3 score. The final set was the most challenging for both opponents as they tried to exert
immense pressure on each other. They landed with an equal percentage of 67 percent on their first serves. However, Rezai broke her opponent’s serves in the fifth and second game, winning 43 of 78 points in total. Rus on the other hand, had no opportunity to
recover and finally submitted the set3-6, winning only three games.
Rezai will take on local wildcard entrant Nadia Lalami in the next round. Lalami stood victorious against Misaki Doi of Japan with a 6-2, 7-5 score line.
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