Barbora Zahlavova Strycova trashes Zhang Shuai to reach the second round – Bell Challenge 2011
Sixth seeded Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova swat past Chinese Zhang Shuai in straight sets at the Bell Challenge 2011, an indoor hard court even held in Quebec, Canada. She registered a 6-4, 6-2 success over the 22-year-old Zhang
to advance into the second round on Wednesday.
Ranked 75th in the WTA Premier rankings, Strycova put up a solid display of tennis to prove her class in the opening round of this WTA International event. She took one hour and thirty-five minutes to dump the Chinese,
ranked twenty-seven places below her, on their first meeting. By doing so, the Czech not only took lead in the head-to-head series by 1-0 against Shuai but also secured a second round spot.
The Plzen native, Strycova thundered into the opening set and got the first blood in the very first game. Regardless of losing her edge in the proceeding game and squandering another lead after breaking in the fifth game, she converted
a third breakpoint opportunity to her advantage in the ninth game to clinch the opener with a 6-4 score line.
The Czech manifested a lower first serve share and earned a convincing 62 percent win on it. In addition to this, she saved three out of five breakpoints faced and capitalised on three out of nine breakpoint chances to her advantage.
25-year-old Czech went berserk in the final set. After the Chinese held her serve in the first game, she unleashed barrage of groundstrokes to reel off next five games in a row before Shuai could hold on again. Strycova then held
her serve for the last time in the seventh game to seal the victory with a 6-2 score line.
Strycova will square off against Croat Mirjana Lucic who triumphed over American Jamie Hampton in straight sets to reach this spot.
Top seeded Daniela Hantuchova made to the second round earlier that day. The highest ranked Slovak rallied past Croat Ajla Tomljanovic with a 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 success in almost two hours. She saved only three out of seven breakpoints
faced but converted six out of eighteen breakpoint opportunities to her advantage to earn this three setter victory.
Tags: