Chanelle Scheepers stuns Sorana Cirstea in the opening draw – Grand Prix de SAR 2013
a stunning outcome was witnessed in the opening round of Grand Prix de SAR la Princess Lalla Meryam when the second seeded Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, suffered a cracking defeat at the hands of the South African underdog, Chanelle
Scheepers, on Monday. The 70th ranked veteran took 71 minutes to outclass Cirstea in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
Currently holding the world number 26 rank, Cirstea had defeated Scheepers at Brisbane International in 2011 but it was the payback time for the 29-year-old South African this time round. Scheepers spared merely four games for
the number two seed opponent and cruised through the two sets to register a resounding victory. She was extremely delighted to have such an impact early in the tournament and desires to carry on her wining impetus in the matches to come.
"The conditions were quite tough. It was pretty windy and it's kind of a high altitude," Scheepers said. "I knew Sorana would be a very tough opponent. I was just trying to go out there and compete and make it as hard as possible
for her. I thought I was really consistent and defended really well. I really tried to make her hit an extra ball and when I had the chance, I tried to be aggressive, so hopefully I can continue that."
Scheepers broke the Romanian serve right at the start of the opening set but Cirstea came back strongly shortly after by registering a break of serve in the fourth game. However, she couldn’t do much when the South African veteran
launched her onslaught, winning four games on the trot and breaking Cirstea twice in succession to seal the set at 6-3.
Once getting into her winning groove, Scheepers didn’t look back in the following set. She had an early hiccup by losing her opening serve but she went for a six-game killing spree to wrap up the proceedings. Scheepers nailed three
consecutive break points in the second set and concluded the match with a breadstick, 6-1.
Scheepers will take on the unseeded Spanish contender, Maria Teresa Torro Flor, in the second round of the tournament.
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