Elena Vesnina thrashes Tamira Paszek to move ahead at 2011 Internazionali BNL D’Italia
World number 41 Elena Vesnina of Russia defeated Austrian Tamira Paszek in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 on Monday to advance into the second round of 2011 Internazionali BNL D’Italia in Rome.
The year 2011 has proved to be mixed bag of highs and lows for the Russian tennis-pro. Vesnina struggled to achieve considerable results at the Women’s Tennis Association singles arena but gave impressive performances in the doubles world. She started the season with a second round appearance at the 2011 Auckland and then at the Australian Open she fell in the first round to inform Virginie Razzano. Paris indoors, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Qatar ladies Open, BNP Paribas Open and Sony Ericsson Open all brought disappointment for the un-seeded Russian tennis-pro.
However, just a few weeks ago, Vesnina put up an impressive show at Charleston by reaching the final of WTA tournament. She will be hoping to continue her good form here on the red clay courts of Rome as well though consistency is going to be the key in the field full of fierce competitors. Her next match up at the tournament will be against Agnieszka Radwanska.
Qualifier Paszek made a positive start to the match buy clinching three straight points on her opponent’s serve in first game of the opening set. However as the match progressed Paszek’s lost her concentration and committed a large number of unforced errors. Vesnina was quick to spot the opportunities and made the challenger pay heavily for her mistakes.
In the first set Vesnina broke the serve early to strengthen her position in the contest. She used her powerful backhand shot to great effect to claim points at crucial moments. The Russian held on to her serve games to take the set score lead 1-0.
Paszek fought back well in the following set and made the crucial serve break to take 3-2 lead in the set. However, Vesnina showed remarkable determination and temperament as she broke back with a double serve break to ensure her straight set victory in a match that lasted for 1 hour and 44 minutes.
Vesnina serve was her main asset as she fired 7 aces on her opponent half of the court. She achieved 71 per cent first serve conversion and also claimed 43 per cent of the points on return. Her strong baseline strategy played a vital role in deciding the outcome of the match as she looked to attack with every available opportunity. The 24-year-old was delighted with her effort and aimed for similar results in her upcoming matches at the tournament.
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