Lucie Hradecka & Monica Niculescu qualify for the 2011 BNP Paribas Open
Lucie Hradecka defeated Petra Martic of Croatia in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday to qualify for the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, held annually in California, United States.
The match proved to be pretty much one sided towards the end after both contestants looked to dominate early on. The first set was played on a highly competitive note as both players exchanged breaks however the Czech managed to clinch the set 6-4 thanks
to a double fault by Martic in the last game.
Hradecka then kept the momentum going in the second set as well as she completed a deserving 6-4, 6-3 win in a match that lasted for only 1 hour and 17 minutes.
Hradecka was delighted with her performance as she stuck to her strengths and gave an inspiring display of her tennis skills. The Czech was extremely impressive with her big serves, firing 5 aces in the match. She also converted 70 percent of the points
on her first serve as compared to 57 percent managed by Martic. The 25 year old dominated her opponent with her magnificent backhands and forehands as she achieved 5 serve breaks in the match.
The Czech, who reached her career high ranking of World no. 32 in June 2010, has been around for some time now. She has been quite impressive since the start of this season, but her inability to win important and crucial encounters has always remained a
question. She did quite well at the Monterrey Open just a week ago, winning four straight matches before she was knocked out by Ksenia Pervak.
On the other hand the Croatian, Martic failed to convert the big chances that came her way as she managed to win only 2 break points out of 9 in the match. Martic was ordinary with her serve producing 8 double faults which played its part in deciding the
outcome of the match.
Meanwhile Monica Niculescu of Romania eased past German Kathrin Woerle in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 in the final round of singles qualifying tournament. The Romanian humbled the challenger in all aspects of the game as she converted 4 out of 5 break points
in the match to secure an easy win. Ranked World no. 65, Niculescu will be hoping to take this momentum into the main draw as well where she is expected to take on more competitive players.
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