Grandin/ Uhlirova defeat Amanmuradova/ Hsieh in doubles thriller at 2011 Barcelona Ladies Open
South African/ Czech pair of Natalie Grandin and Vladimira Uhlirova defeated the unseeded pairing of Akgul Amanmuradova and Su-Wei Hsieh in a doubles thriller at the Barcelona Ladies Open. It’s an international-level event of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tour being played at the David Lloyd Club Turo in Barcelona, Spain.
The event is highlighting many doubles stars competing in the doubles draw of the tournament. Besides World number 7 Yaroslava Shvedova, World number 16 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, World number 18 Iveta Benesova, World number 37 Sara Errani, World number 41 Roberta Vinci, World number 48 Natalie Grandin and world number 96 Ekaterina Makarova are all has been installed as seeded players this time round. Of these pairs, the team of Makarova/ Shvedova and Errani/ Vinci has been already eliminated in their quarterfinal matches.
Match here started off with the Grandin and Uhlirova leading. Grandin and Uhlirova landed in 69 per cent of their first serves and won 64 per cent of their first serve points. Their opponents were much worse at landing in first serves, scoring a meager 29 percent. The Uzbek/Taiwanese pairing only won 36 percent of their total service points, and in course of such a terrible serving, they gave up three breaks off of four opportunities. The South African/ Czech pair too gave up two breaks off of five break points, but their two extra scores delivered them the set 6-4.
The final set saw a huge U-turn in the next six games. The Uzbek/ Taiwanese pair landed in 86 percent of their first serves this time round, bringing their percentage up to 30 percent. However, the 3th seeds were again much better at scoring points on serve, as they sported by dropping only 6 out of 19 points on their first serve. Crafting 5 chances to break, the pair only needed three of them to seal the set 6-4 to take the lead with straight sets.
In the next round, Grandin and Uhlirova will take on experienced doubles players from Czech Republic. None other than, the Czech pair of Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova who moved past the Taiwanese/ American pair of Chang Kai-Chen and Jill Craybas in the semi final of the tournament.
Both teams are looking very confident as they are in the final spot of the tournament. The South African/ Czech team is actually a below average defensive team as compared to their opponents. The Czechs on the other hand are more experienced to match their talent and excellent chemistry. Both teams would be trying hard to win this match and grab the champion’s trophy.
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