Chanel Simmonds crushes Zarah Razafimahatratra to reach final showdown – Potchefstroom ITF 2012
Local starlet, Chanel Simmonds, breezed past the fifth seed, Zarah Razafimahatratra, with double bagels at the Potchefstroom ITF 2012 on Friday. She jolted down a 6-0, 6-0 victory against the 18-year-old to power into the final round at the ITF (International
Tennis Federation) Women’s Circuit event taking place in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Seeded top in this event, Simmonds displayed her best tennis at this outdoor hard court event. She barely sweated to pull out the victory in around 40 minutes and booked a spot in the title-round. The contestants previously battled each other at the Pretoria
ITF event four years ago where the South African tumbled over Razafimahatratra with double breadsticks.
The left-handed South African blasted into the Fanie Du Toit Sports Stadium. She unleashed flurry of groundstrokes and reeled off all six games consecutively. Simmonds was never challenged with any breakpoint and cashed all three break chances to pull out
the opener with a bagel.
Ranked 177th in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Rankings, Simmonds maintained her intensity in the following set. She continued hitting angled shots from her box of tricks and stroke out all six games. The South African dusted away
both breakpoints she faced and converted three out of five break chances to her advantage.
The 20-year-old dominated throughout the duel. She clobbered a better first serve share and spilled fewer unforced errors. Simmonds recently cruised to the final round at the Lagos ITF where she bowed out to fifth seeded Cristina Dinu in a three-set thriller.
The local starlet also secured semi-final berths at the Port Pirie ITF and the Rockhampton ITF.
Simmonds will face off the third seed, Keren Shlomo, who overpowered the local challenger, Lynn Kiro, in straight sets to progress. The Israeli starlet quickly bagged the opening set with a breadstick after reeling off last five games consecutively.
Shlomo exchanged two serve breaks before levelling the scores at 5-5 in the following set. She then got the breakthrough near the end and eventually clicked the set with a 7-5 win.
The Israeli held her serves with conviction and capitalised on five break chances to pull out the victory.
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