Eva Birnerova tumbles over Katalin Marosi in the opening round – Whirlpool Monterrey Open 2012
Czech tennis star, Eva Birnerova, edged past the Hungarian qualifier, Katalin Marosi, in straight sets at the Whirlpool Monterrey Open 2012 on Tuesday. She clobbered a 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over the world number 481 to secure a place in the second round at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International tournament held in Monterrey, Mexico.
The Czech warded off early resistance to outmuscle the Romanian-born in their second outing. She not only took lead in the head-to-head series by 2-0 against Marosi but also advanced into the round of 16 at the Sierra Madre Tennis Club. The contestants previously battled each other at the Stuttgart WTA event where Birnerova outclassed the Hungarian in straight sets.
Duelling for their maiden WTA titles, both veterans played their best tennis in the opening set. However, the 27-year-old Czech was the one to steal the spotlight. She lost her serve three times but capitalised on three out of twelve break opportunities, subsequently dragging the set to a tie-breaker. Birnerova cruises to a 5-1 lead in it and despite losing two points after this, she clinched the opener with a 7-6(3) score line.
Ranked 109th in the WTA rankings, Birnerova lost her opening serve in the following set but made a fitting reply. She jumped to a 3-1 lead by breaking the Hungarian’s serve twice and then exchanged two serve breaks to bag the set with a 6-4 win.
Summing up the higher ranked performance, Birnerova fully capitalised on the several unforced errors and nine double faults the 32-year-old spilled. She also produced a better first serve share of 75 percent and acceptably clicked 37 out of 68 points on it. Spicing the match further, she found 17 break chances and availed seven of them.
Next challenge for the highly enthusiastic Czech is the winner of the match between Argentina’s Gisela Dulko and Austria’s Patricia Mayr-Achleitner.
French ace, Alize Cornet, will accompany Birnerova in the round of 16. She lost her serve five times but cashed in six out of seven break chances to seal the deal with a 6-4, 7-6(3) score line. The French required one hour and 50-minutes to outshine her rival in their first meeting.
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