Jamie Hampton sails past Virginie Razzano in the last qualifier – Toray Pan Pacific Open 2012
World number 99, Jamie Hampton, ousted the 133rd ranked French veteran, Virginie Razzano, in the final qualifying round of the Toray pan Pacific Open on Saturday. She won the opening set with a resounding score line
of 6-1 and survived the severe test in the second phase to clinch the main round berth with a tie-breaker victory 7-6(3).
Razzano who sky-rocketed the heights of fame with a stunning result at the first round of the French Open Championship in Paris wasn’t good enough for the 22-year-old American. She had defeated the former world number one, Serena
Williams, in the first round clash at Paris. It was a stunning triumph for the 29-year-old French but couldn’t sustain the form and vanished from the spotlight ever since that day.
The opening set witnessed a severe battering for the French at the hands of Hampton. The American thumped her opponent in the first game of the game and earned a breakpoint; did well to hang on to her serve after a rigorous battle.
The momentum was retained by the 22-year-old American in the third game that ended with another breakpoint.
A serve hold helped Hampton to post a resounding lead of 4-0. Razzano just managed to win a single game throughout the opening set before her rival clinched the triumph. The second set start wasn’t good at all for the French. She
lost the breakpoint in the second game and went down to a trail of 0-2. However, she bounced back in time to make it 3-3 courtesy a swap of breakpoints in the fourth and subsequent game.
The momentum swirled in favour of one player to another with each game. There was not a single serve hold registered until the end of the 12th game of the second set. The see-saw battle between the two athletes witnessed
six successive breakthroughs but none of them could protect it to take a lead. A tie-breaker was easily won by the American professional who will be facing the wildcard entrant from France, Caroline Garcia. It is considered to be an easy draw for the 99th
ranked American since her fellow successful qualifier got much tougher rivals.
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