Irina Falconi guns down Zuzana Ondraskova to qualify for the second round of Brussels Ladies Open
World number 116 Irina Falconi of America prevailed over world number 91 Zuzana Ondraskova of Czech Republic in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 in the first round at the Brussels Ladies Open on Tuesday. The American won an evenly contested
match in one hour and thirty eight minutes.
Ondraskova was not a big challenge for the American pro as she completely dominated her with impressive serving and good ground strokes. With a big serve and well placed shots Falconi proved to be a tough opponent for the Czech.
Falconi was solid on serve and played with her usual power on the ground. Ondraskova struggled on the second serve and failed to return well too.
The first set saw some brilliant serving from both players but Ondraskova struggled at the net, allowing her opponent to grab some early points. In the opening set, Falconi and Ondraskova held their serve in the first ten games
to level the score at 5-5. The American broke her opponent in the 11th game and held her serve in the next game to seal the set 7-5.
Falconi fired 78 percent of the first serves, winning 57 percent of the points on them. While, Ondraskova stayed behind with a mere difference of one percent as she delivered 75 percent of the first serves and converted 56 percent
of them into points. Falconi won 78 percent of her second return points and converted four of the five break points to clinch the first set.
After claiming the first set, Falconi never looked back and kept her momentum flowing in the next games. The American broke the Russian thrice, dropping just three games to clinch the second set 6-3. Falconi struck two aces, 57
percent of the first serves, and scored 61 percent of the points behind them. In comparison, Ondraskova kept her first serve percentage at 81 percent and gained a meager 41 percent on her first serves. The Czech failed to save three of the five break points
she faced and gifted away the match to her opponent in straight sets.
Falconi now moves on ahead to face Francesca Schiavone of Italy in the second round of the tournament. Falconi and Schiavone have never met each other at any of the WTA occasions, and this is going to be their first meeting ever.
Falconi is definitely going to meet a huge obstacle in Schiavone as she is 111 places higher than her in the WTA rankings list. Furthermore, the World number five has been showing signs of improvement during the Rome Masters though, most recently progressing
to the quarterfinal with victory over Samantha Stosur of Australia.
Schiavone’s defensive game and magnificent skills are good at forcing errors out of opponents and the American needs to come up with something extraordinary if she desires any success.
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