Francesca Schiavone plonks Johanna Larsson to reach semis – Internationaux de Strasbourg 2012
Second seed, Francesca Schiavone, devastated the Swedish star, Johanna Larsson, with a bagel at the Internationaux de Strasbourg 2012 on Thursday. She jolted down a 6-0, 6-3 success against the world number 81 to breeze into the last four at this WTA (Women’s
Tennis Association) clay court event taking place in Strasbourg, France.
The Italian number one, who secured a title-round berth at the French Open last season, re-ignited her spark at this tournament. She crushed the 23-year-old in straight sets in their first meeting to secure a semi-final place here.
"Yesterday was a long day as I didn't get on court until very late and at the beginning today my legs were quite heavy," Schiavone commented in a post-match press conference. "It was closer than the score shows but I think I won the most important points.
It's a good feeling to play these matches as I'm starting to feel my game better. I now have confidence to serve flatter and in my movement around the court."
Schiavone went berserk in the opening set at this International-level tournament and reeled off the opening six games in a row to bake a bagel. She swiped in her entire serves without facing any real challenge and capitalised on three out of eight break
chances to inch towards glory.
Ranked 14th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Schiavone maintained her intensity in the following set and earned the desiderated break in the opening game to take the initial lead. Apart from squandering her edge in the very next game, the Italian
stayed focused and broke Larsson’s serve twice to pull out the set with a 6-3 score line.
All in all, the Italian veteran capitalised fully on the four double faults her rival committed. She produced a lower first serve share of 53 per cent as compared to the Swede’s 56 per cent but brilliantly availed 16 out of 20 points on it. Schiavone also
tremendously brushed off two out of three breakpoints she faced and cashed in six out of 15 break opportunities.
Up next for the seed is the American teenager, Sloane Stephens, who tumbled over Japan’s Ayumi Morita in straight sets to set-up this meeting.
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