Elena Vesnina rallies past Maria Joao Koehler in the first round – Portugal Open 2013
World number 28, Elena Vesnina, had no troubles in disposing of the local underdog contender, Maria Joao Koehler, in the opening round of Portugal Open on Monday. The seventh seeded Russian took one hour and 19 minutes to wrap
up victory in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, to reach the round of 16 at the WTA tournament in Portugal.
It was the 16th victory for Vesnina in the 2013 WTA season and the first one against Koehler. She has been in an excellent form this year and has already bagged a WTA championship title. She is seeded at number seven
in the tournament draw and is highly bidding to claim her second trophy of the running season.
"It was difficult to play today with the tough conditions, but we were practicing in the wind the last few days so I was ready for it," Vesnina said after the match. "It's difficult to play your best tennis in the wind but I was
just trying to fight through it. Neither of us were playing that well. I'm just happy that in the key moments I was more aggressive and played a little bit better and used my chances out there. I was happy to be back on Centre Court. I've played here a few
times and always love it here."
Koehler is Portugal’s number one player but she couldn’t stand a chance against the might of the 26-year-old Russian. She registered a break point in the opening set of the match but was stunned by Vesnina’s two serve breaks. The
seventh seeded Russian secured 14 out of 19 points on her first serve and bagged the opening set at 6-4 to get in the driving seat.
The following set was an all-Russian show, with Vesnina nailing four break points to devastate the local contender. Koehler broke the Russian serve just one and had to suffer a breadstick to finish her voyage in a dismal fashion.
Vesnina will take on the unseeded Romanian, Monica Niculescu, in the second round of Portugal Open. Niculescu was successful against Tamira Paszek of Austria, 6-1, 6-3, in the opening round brawl.
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