Malaysian Open Preview: Jarmila Groth vs. Ayumi Morita
Fourth seeded Australian Jarmila Groth will be squaring off against the sixth seeded Ayumi Morita of Japan in the quarter-final of the BMW Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. The clash of the seeded players will be a tough one as both women has been
performing very well in the tournament so far.
The 23-year-old Aussie overcame the other Japanese in the tournament, Misaki Doi, in straight sets to book a place in the quarter-finals. The sixth seed Morita cruised past her second round opponent Zhang Shuai of China 6-0, 6-4 to face Groth in the round
of eight.
Groth’s run has been quite an impressive one this year. She kicked off the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) World Tour season at the Brisbane International Championships where she made it all the way to the quarterfinals before losing to top seed Samantha
Stosur. The Aussie won her second WTA title this year at the Moorilla Hobart International where she defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States in the final. Groth will certainly like to extend her title count while playing at the Malaysian Open.
20-year-old Morita had never won a WTA title in her five year professional career. She is in good form this season as she made it to the third round of the Dubai Championships by defeating the Indian wildcard Sania Mirza. Morita was outclassed by the world
number one Caroline Wozniacki in the third round.
Morita’s performance at the Malaysian Open has been exceptional. The Japanese has merely lost six games in her previous two matches. Her opponents so far, Darya Kustova and Zhang Shuai, failed to challenge the sixth seed in the initial matches and Morita
had defeated them both in straight sets. However, her skills will certainly be tested by her quarter-final opponent, Groth.
Looking at the serve quality of both contestants, Morita has a clear edge over the Aussie. The Japanese had an impressive serve percentage of 71 in the first round while Groth lagged far behind her with 56. Morita’s percentage dropped to 61 in the second
round but it was still much better than Groth’s 54. The Aussie needs to bridge this gap of serve accuracy if she desires success against the sixth seed.
The other vital factor to look for is the proficiency of both players to cash in the opportunities at the right time. Morita has been far more efficient in winning her break points while Groth has failed to bear the pressure situations. The Japanese got
19 break chances in her two matches and she converted 11 out of them. Groth was awarded 20 serve breaks by her opponents in the tournament but the Australian merely won six of them.
Converting opportunities and winning crucial points holds the key to success in a game of tennis. Taking this in view, Morita can be deemed as the favourite in the quarter-final. Although Groth has made to the quarter-final with straight sets victories,
it is worth noting that her opponents have greatly assisted in her victories by committing plenty of unforced errors. Morita’s error count has been very reasonable in the tournament so far and Groth will need to push hard at her to craft opportunities.
Nevertheless, the contest will be an enthralling one as the top seeded players battle it out for a place in the semi-finals.
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