Julia Cohen breezes past Mercedes Vega to reach the 2nd round – Buenos Aires ITF
Top seeded American Julia Cohen slew Argentinean Maria Constanza De Las Mercedes Vega with a breadstick at the AAT Women’s Circuit 2011, an ITF event taking place on the clay courts in Buenos Aires, Argentina between 5th
to 10th December. She barely sweated in the final set to register a 6-3, 6-1 victory over the local starlet and secured a round of sixteen spot on Tuesday.
22-year-old American put up a solid display of tennis to outshine Vega in every department of tennis on their first meeting. By doing so, Cohen not only secured a second round spot but also got one step closer to her second year-to-date
title.
Ranked 181st in the Sony Ericsson WTA Premier rankings, Cohen cruised into the opening set and wiped out opening three games in a row. She then maintained consistency in her game to keep remaining serves, eventually
clinching the set with a 6-3 win. The American brushed off all breakpoints faced and capitalised on one out of many breakpoint chances to her advantage to clinch the set comfortably.
The blooming American kept momentum floating into the final set. She bagged first three games in a row before the Argentinean could come on the score sheet. Later, Cohen re-kindled his spark and stroke out last three games consecutively,
eventually earning a breadstick. With her tremendous defensive skills, she warded off all breakpoints faced. In addition to this, the American broke Vega’s serve twice to manipulate an exceptional 6-1 score line.
Cohen made a terrible start of the season. Despite reaching the last eight at Irapuato, she fell to a five match losing streak. The American lifted her game at Bangkok in May where she made a final berth but again fell to a five
match losing streak. Her form wasn’t consistent afterwards but she still made quarter-final showings at Vancouver and Sarajevo. The American raised the level of her game in late September where she reached the last four at Tbilisi and then clinched her maiden
title of the season at Yerevan the next month. Later she made a final showdown at Rosario ITF (lost to third seed Chanel Simmonds in the final) before entering this Argentinean clay court tournament.
Next up for the highest ranked player of the tournament is the Austrian Tina Schiechtl who earned a retirement victory over the Brazilian qualifier Paula Cristina Goncalves. The Austrian made quickly on the winning track but lost
her serve once in the second set, eventually losing with a 3-6 defeat. In the sixth set tie-breaker, Schiectl automatically advanced into the next round when the Brazilian was forced to retire due to back injury.
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