Irina-Camelia Begu defeats Laura Pous-Tio in the opening round – Budapest Grand Prix 2011
Number seven seed Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania earned a hard fought 6-4, 6-4 victory over Spanish Laura Pous-Tio on Monday to make it to the second round of 2011 Budapest Grand Prix in Hungary. Begu showed great determination
and fighting abilities in her opening match that lasted for almost than one hour and 33 minutes.
Looking for a place in the second round of the Women’s Tennis Association tournament, Begu started off very confidently. Breaking the serve in fourth game of the opening set, she took a crucial 3-1 lead. The experienced Pous-Tio
was also up for the challenge as she broke straight back to level the terms. Begu had another chance of breaking the serve later in the opening set, which she converted with a ferocious backhand winner down the line to lead 5-3. Holding on to her next service
game with ease, the Romanian pocketed the opener.
The second set was also played on a very competitive note as both players put in a lot of effort to make the first serve break. Pous-Tio started to execute her game plan a lot better in the second set and broke her rival to shift
the balance of the contest. However the relentless Begu broke back twice to take a vital 5-3 lead. Converting a long rally in her favour on her next service game, she made two points available to her and then converted the second one to seal a straight sets
victory.
Begu served with control and accuracy as she hit 66 per cent of her first serves. She was also solid in the serve return department saving several break points against herself. Adopting a very aggressive baseline approach, she
hit her strong ground strokes to put her opponent under pressure. Pous-Tio on the other hand made a slow start to the match and missed quite a few opportunities early on. She managed to convert only four out of ten break points in the match, which of course
played a big part in deciding the outcome of the game.
Ranked 77th in the world, Begu is having a fantastic time on the tour this season. Having won 27 out of 35 matches in the year 2011, she must be feeling very confident about her game and on-court abilities.
However, she must try and be more consistent if she wants to make it to the final stages of the tournament as other top seeded players may not let her get away her with her unforced errors. The 20-year-old will be facing Ajla Tomljanovic
in her next match-up at the WTA tournament.
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