Eva Birnerova triumphs over Stephanie Bengson in opening round – Royal Indian Open 2012
Czech contender, Eva Birnerova, tumbled the Australian qualifier, Stephanie Bengson, in straight sets at the Royal Indian Open 2012 on Tuesday. She penned down a 6-2, 7-5 victory against the world number 616 to secure a place in the second round at this
outdoor hard court event taking place in Pune, India.
Seeded fourth in this event, Birnerova showed superb skills to outsmart the Australian in their first meeting. After earning the fame in less than two hours, the Czech took lead in the head-to-head series by 1-0 against Bengson and advanced into the round
of 16 at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Challenger event taking place from 5th to 11th November.
Birnerova made a strong entry at the Balewadi Sports Complex. She drew the first blood in the third game and jumped to a 3-1 lead. The Czech held her composure and swiped her remaining serves with conviction. She capitalised on another break chance in the
last game and clicked the opener with a 6-2 win. Birnerova was never challenged with any breakpoint and cashed two out of six break chances to inch towards her goal.
Ranked 125th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Birnerova kept momentum floating in the proceeding set. She got the critical break in the fifth game and took a 3-2 lead. Apart from losing her edge in the very next game, the Czech remained calm and bagged
her remaining serves. She got the breakthrough in the 11th game and clinched the set with a 7-5 score line. Birnerova failed to block the only breakpoint she faced and converted two out of five break chances to her advantage.
Up next for Birnerova is the Thai contestant, Luksika Kumkhum, who overpowered Hong Kong’s Wing-Yau Chan in straight sets to set up this meeting.
The second seed, Misaki Doi, will accompany Birnerova in the following round. She crushed the local wild card entrant, Prerna Bhambri, with a bagel to progress at this event. The Japanese seed brushed off both breakpoints she faced to keep her entire serves.
She cashed five out of seven break chances to formulate a 6-0, 6-2 score line.
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