Elena Baltacha ousts Stefanie Voegele to enter second round – Brussels Open 2013
British wild card entrant, Elena Baltacha, squeaked past the Swiss contender, Stefanie Voegele, in straight sets at the Brussels Open 2013 on Monday. She recorded a 7-6(9), 7-5 victory against the Swiss to secure
a spot in the round of 16 at this WTA Premier event taking place in Brussels, Belgium.
Great Britain’s Baltacha made a winning return on the WTA tour after staying out of action for eight months due to a foot injury she sustained at the London Olympics.
The British woman stated in an on-court interview after stealing the spotlight, "My operation went really smoothly, my rehab was quite quick, and I trained for about three weeks before I played my first event
back in early April. The last four weeks have been brilliant. Representing Great Britain in Fed Cup against Argentina was a massive plus, considering it was only the second week I was back... it was a big confidence boost. And then last week at an event in
France I qualified and got some matches bagged, which showed I could play consistent tennis from day to day."
The former top 50, Baltacha, made a dismal start after suffering the first blow in the third game. She fell to 1-3 with her loss of serve. However, the British stayed focused and not only held her remaining serves
with poise but recovered in the 10th game, eventually dragging the set to a tie-breaker. She edged past Voegele in it and eventually clicked the opener with a 7-6(9) success.
Baltacha lost her track again in the proceeding set. She lost her opening serve and fell to 0-3. However, she turned the tables on the Swiss after trailing at 2-5. The British unleashed flurry of ground strokes
and reeled off last five games, consequently clinching the set with 7-5 score line.
Summing up the her performance at the Royal Primerose Tennis Club, Baltacha manifested an equal first serve share of 61 per cent but superbly marked 38 out of 56 points on it.
Next challenge for Baltacha is the seventh seed, Varvara Lepchenko, from America. She rallied past Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski in a three-set thriller to progress.
The Slovakian challenger, Jana Cepelova, will accompany Baltacha in the following round. She bounced back from a set down to outclass Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko. Cepelova recorded a 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 score line against
the Ukrainian to book a spot in the second round. The Slovak found her rhythm after the opening set and eventually bag the match.
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