Grandin/ Uhlirova drive out Choi/Hong in 1st round – Hansol Korea Open 2011
Number one seeded team of Natalie Grandin with Vladimira Uhlirova expelled the wild card team of Ji-Hee Choi with Seung-Yeon Hong in the doubles opening round of the Hansol Korea Open 2011. On 21st of September 2011 the squads
battled it out for one hour and eleven minutes of the match and the team standing was number one seeded South African Grandin and Czech Uhlirova with straight sets of 6-4, 6-2.
Opting to serve first after winning the pitch was Grandin/ Uhlirova, who easily placed themselves on the score board by winning on their serve. However, trailing behind them was the Korean pair of Choi/ Hong, who too won on the
service game and tied the score to 1-1.
In the following two games Grandin/ Uhlirova not only won on their respective service game but also broke their rivals first to take a mini lead of 3-1. Not wanting Grandin/ Uhlirova to get the upper hand, Choi/ Hong broke back
and by the sixth game had levelled the score at 3-3.
During the next two games, both the teams won on their respective serves and eventually again balanced their scores at 4-4. At this pivotal mark of the game, either of the teams could’ve taken the competitive edge but it was Grandin/
Uhlirova, who held their serve in the eleventh game and were looking to break their adversaries in the twelfth.
As Choi / Hong anxiously served to stay in t he game, they double faulted and gifted a costly opening set to their opponents.
Although, the players had rallied each other and were neck on neck into each other, Grandin/ Uhlirova kept their cool and minimized their double faults to clog a 6-4 victory.
Opening the second set of the match were again Grandin/ Uhlirova and this time they got off to a bad start as they were broken in the very first game. While Choi/ Hong capitalized on the early break and also held their serve in
the second game to lead with a 2-0 score.
It was in the third game when Grandin/ Uhlirova won on their serve and in the fourth got back at their opponents by breaking them to equalize the score. It seemed like a cat and mouse chase until the sixth game the South African/
Czech pair broke their opponents for the second time and was now two breaks up.
By holding their own in the seventh game, the top seeds were looking to break their opponents to bag a quick victory and as the South Korean pair smashed a forehand long, they erred and presented their rivals with a reserved spot
in the quarterfinal of the event.
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