Casey Dellacqua defeats Shuai Zhang at the 2011 Estoril Open
Former top forty, Australian Casey Dellacqua upset world number 78 Chinese Shuai Zhang in straight sets in the first round of the 2011 Estoril Open, a clay court tournament in Portugal, on Monday.
Ranked 538th in the WTA Premier rankings, Dellacqua crashed the 22-year-old Chinese with a breadstick in just fifty-four minutes to book a second round spot at Estoril Court Central. It was their first meeting and the Australian now has a lead in their head-to-head series by 1-0.
26-year-old is in great form in the ITF tournaments as she won the title at Mildura and Bundaberg ITF before entering into this WTA Premier event. After defeating the Chinese in the first round, she is now eyeing the $220,000 prize money here at Oeiras.
The Australian completely outshined Zhang throughout the match. She held her opening serve plausibly and made a good start. Dellacqua then held her entire serves by pinging the balls expertly onto the lines. She produced a slightly lower first serve share of 78 percent as compared to Zhang’s 82 percent and earned an amazing 83 percent win on it. The lower ranked saved the only breakpoint faced and converted both breakpoint opportunities to her advantage to clinch the set with an assuring 6-2 score line.
She perfected her game play in the final set and superbly held her entire serves. The Australian produced a higher first serve share of 81 percent as compared to the Chinese’s 76 percent and registered a convincing 59 percent win on it. She again saved the only breakpoint conceded and converted all three breakpoint opportunities to her advantage to seal the set with a breadstick.
"I've been playing some $25,000s on the ITF level for the last few months but felt really confident coming into this week," the Australian said. "To get a win at the WTA level is a real confidence booster for me. I've been training on clay a lot recently and feel good on this surface."
Australian could next face her second seeded countrywoman, Jarmila Gajdosova or Czech Renata Voracova.
Another Chinese was ousted later in the day. Italian Romina Oprandi upset seventh seed Jie Zheng by converting six out of ten breakpoint opportunities to her advantage to clinch the match with a 6-4, 6-2 victory in seventy-five minutes. She saved three out of six breakpoints faced and produced a higher first serve share to help her win comfortably.
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