Daniela Hantuchova crushes Tsvetana Pironkova in the first round of Internazionali BNL d’Italia
Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia crushed Bulgarian tennis player Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 6-2 on Monday to book her place in the second round of 2011 Internazionali BNL D’Italia tournament in Rome.
Hantuchova made a positive start to the match by breaking the serve in second game of the opening set. The Slovakian converted two long rallies in her favour to set up three break points for her. She then secured one of the break
points to take 2-0 lead in the set. The 28-year-old displayed some crafty tennis and successfully held on to her serve games to take the opener 6-4.
In the following set, Hantuchova capitalized on the psychological advantage she had gained in the first game. Her attacking ability was formidable as she smashed her wonderful forehand and backhand shots all over the court. She
broke the serve early to take 3-1 lead in the set. Hantuchova had another chance to break the serve in eighth game of the set which she converted without much trouble to set up three match points for her. Pironkova did well to save a couple of them but the
match eventually ended in straight sets as Hantuchova converted the third one with a brilliant forehand winner down the line.
With strong and accurate serving, Hantuchova created all sorts of problems for her opponent. She achieved 60 per cent first serve conversion and also converted 47 per cent of the points on serve return to take complete control
of the situation. By making most of the chances presented to her in the match, Hantuchova claimed four out of five break chances to seal the contest after only one hour and 27 minutes of play. Pironkova on the other hand looked a bit out of sorts and committed
a large number of unforced errors which led to her downfall. The 23-year-old had her chances to break the serve, but her poor shot selection meant that she was always fighting a losing battle.
The running season has proved to be quite a decent one for world number 33 Hantuchova. Although she experienced first round loss at the Australian Open, she made a strong come back at the Pattaya City by lifting fourth Women’s
Tennis Association title of her career. The Slovakian then made it to the quarterfinals at 2011 Qatar Ladies Open as well to earn valuable WTA ranking points. Hantuchova will be eyeing another strong performance here at the red clay courts of Rome, however,
she will have to up her game play considerably to pose threats to other top seeded players at the tournament. Hantuchova’s next round opponent will be compatriot Polona Hercog who eased past Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania 6-1, 7-5.
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