Jill Craybas plonks Abigail Spears in the first qualifying round - Family Circle Cup 2012
In an all-American veteran contest, the 37-years-old Jill Craybas outfoxed the 30-years-old Abigail Spears to book a spot in the final qualifying round of the Family Circle Cup. It was an easy straight sets triumph for the oldest
player in the tournament; grabbing the win in just over an hour and 27 minutes.
The match was played on the clay court of Charleston, USA and both these players were contesting for the sixth time. Both these players were squaring off for the first time after playing a match in February 2007 during the Midland
event. The head-to-head scores are now tied at 3-3 with Craybas winning the two recent battles. Last times Spears won against the 137th ranked Craybas was way back in 2005 during the Moorilla International at Hobart.
The 30-years-old Spears started the match after Craybas invited her to serve first despite winning the toss. It proved to be a good decision seeing a cracking 4-0 lead upfront for Craybas. She had already broken her opponent twice
and was all set to take the set with no problem at all.
An exchange of breakthroughs towards the ending stages of the set confirmed the triumph for the oldest competitor. It was a great show from Craybas. Seeing someone playing such great tennis at this age of their life is very fascinating.
She received a big round of applause towards the end of the first set which was acknowledged with a wave of hand form the American.
The second set was a bit competitive compared to the first. First five games witnessed no breakthroughs with the 331st ranked Spears leading the scores 3-2. She broke serve in the sixth game in the hunt to take control
of the proceedings but her serve was broken in the following game that kept the scores together.
Craybas registered a tight serve hold to level the scores at 4-4 and went on to break her opponent’s serve in the ninth game that exerted immense pressure on her opponent. Spears had to break serve in the following game to keep
the match alive but she failed to do so and allowed Craybas to book a date with her compatriot, Madison Brengle.
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