Evgeniya Rodina does away with Petra Martic in first round of Family Circle Cup
Russian tennis pro Evgeniya Rodina recorded her first victory over Croatia’s Petra Martic in the first round of the 2011 Family Circle Cup, defeating the player in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 to make it into the second round of the
prestigious Premier event. The Russian took less than an hour and twenty-five minutes to oust her opponent.
Rodina is currently ranked World Number 76, and has been playing as a professional since she was fifteen. The player joined the Women’s Tennis Association in 2004, and has been part of the Tour for almost eight years. The 22-year-old
is right-handed, and has not won a career title so far.
Martic, on the other hand, is currently ranked World Number 114. She is only 20 years old, and has spent less than three years on the WTA professional circuit. She began competing as a pro in 2008, and has not yet won a career
title. However, she seems to be a promising new player.
Evgeniya Rodina stayed in control of the meeting for most of the match, scoring a total of two aces and committing just two double faults. This is in contrast to one ace by Martic, along with four double faults which helped Rodina
advance further during the match. The Croatian pro seemed flustered, and could not save five of eleven break points during the match. She managed to convert two of eight break points against Rodina, but the Russian played superior tennis to fight off the remaining
six. At the end of the match, Rodina had taken an impressive 57 per cent of the total points to win the meeting 6-4, 6-1.
Evgeniya Rodina and Petra Martic have competed against each other twice before. Their head to head is now 2-1, with Martic leading by one match. The players first met in 2008 on the clay courts of the Makarska tournament. Their
first meeting was in the round of the last 32; Martic was ranked World Number 330 at the time, while Rodina was over 200 spots ahead of her as World Number 109. Martic surprised spectators by upsetting the first seed in straight sets. Their next match was
at the qualifying rounds of the 2009 French Open, where Martic undid Evgeniya Rodina in straight sets once again. The Croatian pro was ranked World Number 196 at the time, while Rodina was World Number 134.
Evgeniya Rodina will now compete against either Slovakian tennis pro and tenth seed Daniela Hantuchova, or Russian tennis pro Alla Kudryavtseva in the second round of this year’s Family Circle Cup.
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