Daniela Hantuchova dumps Ajla Tomljanovic in first round – Bell Challenge 2011
World number 25, Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, had hiccup before registering a victory in her opening round match against Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia at the Bell Challenge on Tuesday night.
The top seed Hantuchova wrapped up victory in three sets, 6-0, 2-6, 6-4, taking one hour and fifty three minutes of play to make it to the second round of the $220,000 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tournament.
In the contest being played on the hard courts of Quebec, Canada, the Slovakian had to go through some tough times before she finally overwhelmed the 18-year-old Croat to clear the opening round. Ranked at number 160 in the world,
Tomljanovic put up a courageous fight against the former world number five but was not good enough to take her down in the contest.
The top seeded Slovak was off to a ballistic start in the opening set and absolutely blew away her opponent in the game to get the early advantage. The Croatian teenager made her valiant comeback in the very next set to surprise
everyone but her veteran opponent took hold of the game in the final set to seal a comprehensive victory in the end.
Hantuchova’s 69 per cent precise serve earned her 31 out of 48 first serve points in the game and she converted six out of her 18 break opportunities in the matchup to come out as the winner. Tomljanovic also bagged 31 first serve
points in the game but her seven expensive double faults at the most crucial moments of the match wore her out.
The top seeded Slovak nailed three straight serve breaks in the opener to rocket away to 6-0 in no time, getting one up in the contest very early. Tomljanovic recovered brilliantly in the second set, nailing two cracking serve
breaks to level the match at one-all but the experienced Hantuchova took the momentum in the last moments of the match to claim victory at 6-4. She will take on the unseeded Melinda Czink of Hungary in the second round for a place in the quarter-finals of
Bell Challenge.
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