Ekaterina Makarova overwhelms Johanna Larsson to move into the third round – French Open 2011
Russian tennis player Ekaterina Makarova held on to her nerves to secure an important victory over Swede Johanna Larsson 6-3, 7-6 (5) on Thursday, May 26th, as she advanced into the third round of 2011 French Open in Paris.
Makarova claimed the opening set quite comfortably but had to fight hard in the following set after Larsson made a strong comeback.
Ranked 33rd in the world, Makarova made a very confident start to the match as she timed her shots to perfection in the opening set. With a serve break early in the set, she was able to take control of the contest. Larsson concentrated on her own game play and broke back to level the game score at 3-3. Breaking the serve for the second time in the set, Makarova earned a vital game score lead. She then held on to her next service game to pocket the opener 6-3.
The second set was played on a more competitive note. Larsson raised the level of her game and put up a brave fight. Looking to take the match into the final set, the Swede focused even harder and created several break opportunities. Makarova, on the other hand, kept her cool and managed to match Larsson’s game play. After both players broke twice each, the set went into the tie-breaker. The Russian showed no signs of nerves and secured four straight points in the tie-breaker to ensure her place in the next round of prestigious Grand Slam tournament.
Serving ferociously throughout the match, Makarova achieved an impressive 63 percent first serve conversion in the match. Although Larsson had similar (58 percent) first serve conversion, she was unable to convert few easy points on her own service games.
Makarova controlled most of the rallies and was able to force the challenger to adopt defensive strategy. A share of 50 percent points in the serve return department of the game goes on to suggest that she was on the offensive.
Converting four out of six break chances in the match, Makarova made the most of opportunities that were presented to her. In contrast Larsson wasted a number of break chances, which played a big part in her straight sets loss to the Russian.
Although Makarova started the season on a positive note reaching the fourth round of 2011 Australian Open, she failed to live up the expectations afterwards and experienced several early round losses at the Women’s Tennis Association tour.
Having reached the third round here in Paris, she has a great chance to prove her mettle and earn valuable ranking points by reaching the final stages of the Majors tournament. Her next round opponent will be Estonian Kaia Kanepi.
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