Christina McHale ousts Monica Niculescu to reach round two – Internazionali BNL D’Italia 2012
American star, Christina McHale, trashed the Romanian ace, Monica Niculescu, in straight sets at the Internazionali BNL D’Italia 2012 on Monday. She clobbered a 6-4, 6-4 success against the Bucharest native to power into the second round at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Five event held in Rome, Italy.
McHale needed one hour and 50 minutes to stomp over the world number 35 in their second meeting. The contestants previously battled each other at the Brisbane International and after plucking this match, the American not only improved to a 2-0 lifetime in the head-to-head series against Niculescu but also booked a spot in the round of 32 at Foro Italico.
The 20-year-old made a strong entry at this red clay court event and earned the critical break in the opening game to take the initial lead. Despite losing her edge in the very next game, she capitalised on two more break chances and jumped to a 4-1 lead. McHale lost her serve twice more and sealed the opener by winning six games to four.
Ranked 36th in the WTA Premier Rankings, McHale lost her track towards the second set and suffered the first blow in the second game to fall at 0-2. Apart from exchanging several serve breaks after that, the American carved out the victory with a 6-4 score line.
All in all, the American youngster produced a lower first serve share of 74 per cent as compared to her opponent’s 86 per cent and impressively marked 16 out of 43 points on it.
Next challenge for McHale is the second seed, Maria Sharapova, who received a first round bye after being a top eight player of the tournament.
The German star, Angelique Kerber, bounced back to overpower Australian qualifier, Anastasia Rodionova, in a three-set thriller to progress at this event. She brilliantly fended off nine out of 14 points she came across and capitalised on seven out of 13 break opportunities to formulate a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 score line. The German committed more double faults but clobbered a higher first serve share of 67 per cent as compared to her rival’s 61 per cent.
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