Maria Joao Koehler and Catalina Castano reach second round of 2011 Grand Prix SAR
Portuguese tennis player Maria Joao Koehler overwhelmed local Lina Bennani 6-1, 6-2 to reach the second round at the 2011 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem qualifying tournament in Morocco.
Koehler made an aggressive start to the match as she broke the serve twice early in the opening set to dent her opponent’s confidence levels. She was agile and her on-court movement was excellent. The 18-year-old played some admirable shots during the set and held on to her serve games to pocket the opener 6-1.
The second set also followed a similar pattern with Koehler making the first serve break in the set. Bennani showed great fighting spirit and determination as she broke back in sixth game of the set, trailing the game score by 4-2. However the brilliance of Koehler ensured her a win in straight sets. The Portuguese regrouped herself after conceding the serve break and claimed the next two gamed to end the contest with only 1 hour and 1 minute of play gone.
Koehler is a fresh face in the Women’s Tennis Association arena. She has achieved considerable results on the ITF circuit however is yet to prove that she belongs to the WTA world. Koehler has competed in several tournaments since the start of this season but inconsistency has hampered her progress to the final stages. She will be hoping to maintain her good form in the matches to come at the tournament.
Although few double faults were made by Koehler early in the match, she soon started to time the ball really well and forced her opponent into making mistakes. The 18-year-old claimed 70 percent of the points on her first serve and also dominated the serve return department with 62 per cent points. Koehler played aggressively from the baseline and created match winning opportunities. Her next round opponent will be Urszula Radwanska who defeated Karolina Pliskova in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.
Meanwhile Columbian Catalina Castano secured a hard fought 6-4, 7-6 victory over Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-4, 7-6 to advance to the next round at the red clay courts in Fes.
The match was played on a highly competitive note as both players got involved in several long rallies. Castano made most of the chances that came her way as she took the opener 6-4. Her opponent, Olaru put up a brilliant fight and forced the second set into a tie-breaker. However Castano clinched four straight points in the tie-breaker to complete a deserving win. The Columbian tennis-pro will be facing American Lindsay Lee-Waters in her next match-up at the tournament. Lee-Waters booked her second round place with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Alexandra Cadantu.
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