Jie Zheng avenges loss against Zuzana Kucova in 1st round – HP Japan Open 2011
In simply fifty two minutes Chinese Jie Zheng easily outmanoeuvred Slovak Zuzana Kucova during the main draw of the HP Japan Open 2011. The players drew racquets on outdoor hard courts of the Utsubo Tennis Center in Osaka, Japan.
Chinese world number 58 outshone the Slovak in straight sets of 6-1, 6-1 on Tuesday the 11th of October 2011.
The players were not meeting for the first time and had taken up the gauntlet on outdoor hard courts in 2002 during the US Open in flushing Meadows, New York. Kucova had won the last match and was leading the head-to-head score
with a 1-0.
Initiating the first set of the match was Kucova, who was unable to hold her serve in the first game and gave away a game to her adversary. The Chinese on the other hand, had not only capitalized from an early break but also held
serve to take a mini lead of 2-0. In the next two games the players held serve and the scoreboard had rotated to 4-1. In the sixth and the seventh game, Zheng tactfully handled her serve and as Kucova’s forehand shot went haywire, Zheng conquered a bread stick
victory of the opening set.
The second set was initiated by Zheng and she took on her A-game to dominate her opponent from the very beginning as she capitalized on an early break in the second game, she was leading with a 2-0. The lead was further increased
to a 3-0 as the Chinese qualifier held serve in the third game.
Although, it was too late in the game, Kucova tried to make a return and even though, she bagged a game, she was unable to close in on the deficit. By the end of the fifth game the scoreboard had progressed to 4-1 and as Kucova
served in the sixth game, she double faulted on her second serve and endorsed a crucial break to her adversary. Zheng served for the match in the seventh game and skilfully handled the pressure to seal another breadstick victory of the set and a double breadstick
victory in the match.
The Chinese qualifier was not only able to equalize the head-to-head score but was able to secure a berth in the second round of the HP Japan Open 2011.
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