Francesca Schiavone beats Tsvetana Pironkova in the first round at Brussels Ladies Open
World number five Francesca Schiavone of Italy beat world number 34 Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria in the first round of the Brussels Ladies Open at Royal Primrose Tennis Club on Tuesday.
Ranked fifth in the world, Schiavone took down her competitor in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, taking just one hour and thirty two minutes of play to book her berth in the second round of the tournament.
The 30-year-old Italian displayed awe-inspiring tennis skills to discharge the Bulgarian pro out of the tournament. Even though Pironkova’s first serve percentage was not too different than Schiavone’s, still Schiavone’s defensive
game proved to be the fundamental reason of her success.
Pironkova played well in the second set, but Schiavone played even better, and won it. Pironkova struggled in every service game, but she kept fighting, and while she was broken a couple of times, she also managed to break Schiavone
in the game. She lost the match with a meagre difference of five percent in total and handed over the match to world number five in distress.
The match was not as easy for Schiavone as score suggests, but in the end, the Italian’s determination and consistency took her to the second round of the tournament. She wrapped up the match with a single ace and four double faults.
Furthermore, she bagged 58 percent of points on her service, 53 percent of points on return and 55 percent of points in total.
Schiavone and Pironkova started off the match in great form and entertained the crowd with some blistering ground strokes and impressive angles. Still, the superior Schiavone asserted herself in a very positive way and managed
to sneak a 2-0 lead in the set. However, Pironkova was not done fighting. With Schiavone serving for the set, Pironkova managed to secure a service break and tied the match at 2-all.
The joy was short-lived for the Bulgarian’s Camp. Schiavone roared back, stepped on the accelerator and reeled off four games in a row to grab the first set 6-2. Schiavone fired a single ace, 37 percent of first serves, and won
a whopping 86 percent of points on them. While, Pironkova hanged back with a huge difference of 36 percent and lost the first set.
Following her defeat in the second set, Pironkova did not lose her concentration and played the match with new hopes. Pironkova’s new strategies gave her a lot in the way of results as she quickly lead off the second set with a
hold of serve at 5-0. But all her winning hopes came to an end when an immediate break of Schiavone serve confirmed her down fall. The Italian sealed the second set with 7-5 score line.
Third seed Schiavone is set to headline second-round action in Brussels, as she squares off against Irina Falconi of America on Wednesday.
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