Groenefeld/Zhang stun Mirza/Rodionova to reach second round – Mutua Madrid Open 2012
German-Chinese junction, Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Shuai Zhang, upset the sixth seed, India’s Sania Mirza and Australia’s Anastasia Rodionova, in straight sets at the Mutua Madrid Open 2012 on Monday. They formulated a 6-3, 6-2 victory against their seeded
rivals to book a spot in the pre-quarters at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Mandatory event held in Madrid, Spain.
The unseeded tandem of Groenefeld and Zhang displayed perfect co-ordination to outclass their opponents in just under an hour. After stealing this show, the German-Chinese pair assertively entered the round of 16 at this blue clay court event.
Groenefeld and Zhang enthusiastically entered Park Manzanares and drew the first blood in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. Despite losing their serve in the very next game, the German-Chinese team unleashed their true form and stroke out the last four
games in a row, eventually pocketing the opener by winning six games to three.
The booming pair kept momentum rolling into the following set and earned the coveted break in the second game to leap to a 3-0 lead. Apart from losing their edge in the fifth game, they blasted massive groundstrokes and reeled off the proceeding three games
in a row, sealing the set with a 6-2 win.
All in all, the winning team spilled more double faults but clobbered a better first serve share of 66 per cent as compared to the Indian-Australian pair’s 56 per cent. They also tremendously availed 22 out of 31 points on it and sealed the deal with 50
points.
Up next for Groenefeld and Zhang is the Argentinean team, Gisela Dulko and Paola Suarez. The Argentineans stomped over the Slovenian-Polish junction of Andreja Klepac and Alicja Rosolska in straight sets to progress. They were broken down twice but capitalised
on five out of seven break opportunities to jolt down a 6-2, 7-5 success in 75 minutes.
The Slovakian wild card entrants, Dominika Cibulkova and Janette Husarova, also earned the limelight later that day. They joggled up a 6-3, 6-7(6), 10-7 success against the South African-Czech tandem, Natalie Grandin and Vladimira Uhlirova, in one hour and
49 minutes to advance.
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