Mandy Minella battles past Yi Fan Xu into 2nd round – WANLIMA Women’s Open 2011
Luxembourger tennis pro Mandy Minella crushed Yi Fan Xu of China 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-0 on Tuesday to make it to the second round of 2011 WANLIMA International Women’s Open here in Guangzhou, China.
Minella looked in commanding form in her opening match at the Women’s Tennis Association tournament as she came back from a set deficit to record an impressive victory. Making a number of unforced errors in the opening set, she
looked down and out. However, the Luxembourger raised the level of her game play in the following two sets to surprise her opponent.
If Minella can maintain her current form for the next week or so, she has a real chance of claiming her first title of the season. She possesses a backhand serve and she is also quite tidy in serving department of the game. Her
ability to play the big points with confidence is also something that gives her an edge over the rest of the competitors at the tournament.
Xu will be extremely disappointed with her effort. She had a bright start to the match as she secured the opener, dropping only a couple of games. She fought hard to force the second set into tie breaker, which he lost 7-5. However,
in the final set, she lost her way completely to let her rival establish complete control over the match. Ranked 382nd in the world, Xu will be looking to come back stronger on her next WTA appearance.
World number 166 Minella made a very shaky start to the match. Unable to get any timing on her shots, she gifted points to her opponent in the opening set. Grabbing opportunities with both hands, Xu made her pay heavily by breaking
the serve at regular intervals. Clinching the opening set within first half an hour, Xu took the set score lead 1-0.
Minella made a sensational come back to win the second set in a tie-breaker, 7-5. And then in the decider, she outshined her rival with some high quality tennis. Not dropping a single game, she completed an emphatic win to move
ahead.
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