Francesca Schiavone cripples Sloane Stephens to reach final – Internationaux de Strasbourg 2012
Former world number four, Francesca Schiavone, slew the American starlet, Sloane Stephens, with a breadstick at the Internationaux de Strasbourg 2012 on Friday. She formulated a 7-5, 6-1 victory against the 19-year-old to secure a spot in the title-round
at this WTA International level tournament taking place in Strasbourg, France.
The Italian number one, Schiavone displayed top class performance to crush the world number 79 in straight sets in their first encounter. After bagging the match in one and a half hour-long venture, she stayed on track to claim her fifth WTA title.
"The first set wasn't great. I was using what was there in that moment and just tried to keep going," the jubilant Italian commented after the match. "It wasn't easy today. It was windy, and it's particularly difficult when you play against the wind, because
you have to push hard and stay down with your legs, and be consistent - it's hard to make great shots, so you just have to study how to play the best way, then do it. It wasn't great tennis, but it was important to win and I'm very happy to be in the final."
Schiavone made a drastic entry at this red clay court event and suffered the first blow in the opening game to fall at 0-2. Despite recovering in the fourth game, she broke her rival’s serve again and got the upper hand again. She lost her serve again but
got the breakthrough in the last game, eventually sealing the set by winning seven games to five.
Currently ranked 14th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Schiavone perfected her game in the following set. After enduring the initial blow in the opening game, she went berserk and reeled off the proceeding six games in a row, eventually pulling out
the set with a breadstick.
Overall, the 31-year-old spilled more double faults and clobbered a lower first serve share of 51 per cent as compared to her opponent’s 68 per cent. However, she amazingly clicked 23 out of 37 points on it.
She will square-off against the local wildcard entrant, Alize Cornet, who bounced back to halt her compatriot, Pauline Parmentier, in three sets to set-up this battle.
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