Iveta Benesova and Andrea Petkovic through to the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open
World number 46 Iveta Benesova of Czech Republic won her encounter against the 13the seed Italian, Flavia Pennetta in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open at Miami, Florida on Thursday evening. The Czech wrapped up the straight
sets victory 6-3, 6-0, taking barely 64 minutes to advance to the third round of the tournament.
The unseeded Benesova levelled her head-to-head record against the Italian to 4-4 after her win at Miami. The Czech registered her seventh victory in the current WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) season by defeating Pennetta. She
hardly faced any serious challenge from her opponent and cruised through the contest with ease.
The left-handed Benesova had an excellent start to the contest and created some serious problems for the Italian with her angling cross-court strokes. She delivered 65 per cent of her first serve on target while Pennetta lagged
far behind at 47 per cent, conceding six costly double faults as well. The Czech brilliantly won 24 out of 32 first serve points in the game and belted four serve breaks to outplay her opponent.
Benesova’s aggressive start to the game pushed back Pennetta right from the beginning and the Italian delivered a mere 39 per cent first serve on target. The Czech collected 20 out of 24 total serve points and a break point to
seal the opener 6-3 in the opening 40 minutes of play.
The second set of the match was an all-Benesova show, with the Czech breaking her opponent in each of the serve games. She kept the set short and professional, racing through the games to secure an assertive victory at 6-0.
Benesova will take on 21st seed German Andrea Petkovic in the next round of the Sony Ericsson Open. Petkovic carried on her brilliant form in the running year to defeat the American qualifier Jamie Hampton in the second
round at Miami. She concluded her straight sets victory at 6-2, 7-5, in one hour and twenty eight minutes of play.
The 23-year-old German registered her 15th win of the current WTA season after defeating the American opponent. Petkovic was brilliant with her serve, delivering 70 per cent on target and winning 75 out of total 137
points in the game. Hampton’s bleak serve led her down in the contest as she conceded five double faults while delivering her 49 per cent first serve.
Petkovic broke the American rival twice in the opener set, finishing at 6-2, to take the one set lead. A slightly stiff contest was observed in the following set as Hampton registered two serve breaks, along with three cracking
aces. Her efforts were nullified by Petkovic’s three serve breaks, as she sealed victory at 7-5 to move to the next round of the Sony Ericsson Open.
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