Caroline Wozniacki outfoxes Chanelle Scheepers in round one – China Open 2012
World number 11, Caroline Wozniacki, survived the onslaught from the 28-year-old South African star, Chanelle Scheepers, in the opening round clash of the China Open in Beijing. She won the opening set 7-5; lost the second phase tie-breaker 6(6)-7 but did well to take a resounding lead upfront in the final set to win it 6-2.
Both players fought for almost two hours and 46 minutes at the hard courts of Beijing before the 22-year-old Dane wrote-off the 53rd ranked South African. It was the first professional battle between the two contestants; hence, no nerves were seen at both ends. A pure conventional play from each side extended the match to its limits and delighted the crowd.
Both players converted the serve games in their favour in the opening half of the first set. No breakthroughs were seen for the first six games but the turnaround from Scheepers helped her to pile up the lead. She was serving for the set in the 10th game but the girlfriend of former world number one golfer, Rory Mcllroy, fought back with a timely breakthrough to keep the set alive.
The tables were turned upon the South African when she was serving to stay in the set and failed to do so. No one thought that the in-form Scheepers will drop a crucial point and allow her opponent an easy victory in the opening set after fighting emphatically well throughout the opening phase.
The second set witnessed a terrific lead for the South African at the start. She broke serve thrice in a row to make it 4-1 in her favour. However, a double breakthrough back for the Dane in two ‘do or die’ situations helped her to equalize the scores at 5-5. Both players held their serves to enforce the tie-breaker into play. In the end, the South African clinched the triumph to extend the match further.
The momentum swung in Wozniacki’s favour in the final set. She won three breakpoints in a row and didn’t falter on her serve after the first mishap. Next up for the 10th seed Dane is Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan.
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