Francesca Schiavone downs Lesia Tsurenko in the second round – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Italian number one, Francesca Schiavone, breezed past the Ukrainian star, Lesia Tsurenko, in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Open 2012 on Saturday. She formulated a 6-2, 6-4 score line against the 22-year-old to secure a spot in the round of 32 at this
WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Mandatory event held in Indian Wells, United States.
The 10th seed put up solid display of tennis to tumble over Tsurenko in their second meeting. She not only avenged her loss at the Fed Cup earlier this season but also levelled the head-to-head series by 1-1 against the Ukrainian.
Schiavone confidently entered the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and after breaking the Ukrainian’s serve four times, she bagged the opener with a 6-2 win. Despite losing her serve twice, she broke Tsurenko’s entire serve to earn the limelight.
Ranked 12th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Schiavone carried her winning ways in the following set. She again failed to fend off both breakpoints she encountered but capitalised on three out of five break opportunities to seal the set by winning
six games to four.
All in all, the 31-year-old took full advantage of the several unforced errors and nine double faults the Ukrainian committed. She also produced a higher first serve share of 67 per cent as compared to Tsurenko’s 54 per cent and acceptably marked 16 out
of 32 points on it.
Next in line for Schiavone is the 23rd seed, Lucie Safarova, who earned a 6-3, 3-1 retirement victory over Austria’s Tamira Paszek to set-up this duel.
The South African ace, Chanelle Scheepers, will accompany Schiavone in the third round. She stunned the 29th seed, Kaia Kanepi, in straight sets to set-up this meeting.
"Kaia started the year out very well but has been out for a while. I didn't know what to expect, exactly," Scheepers said afterwards. "It's hard for every player to play their first match back after a while or after an injury, but in the end you just try
to focus on yourself, and try to do what you do best on the court. I thought I played really well today. My base game was very solid and I didn't give her any free points. I really tried to make her work for every point."
Scheepers will square off against the seventh seed, Marion Bartoli, who bounced over the local qualifier, Varvara Lepchenko, in three sets to set-up this date.
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