Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor ousts Cabeza-Candela in the final qualifier – Estoril Open 2012
In an all-Spanish final qualifier, Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor, defeated the 25-year-old competitor, Estrella Cabeza-Candela to register straight sets 6-3, 6-3 upset and marched into the main round of the Estoril Open.
The battle lasted for an hour and 19 minutes featuring a couple of aces and seven breakpoints in total. Both players started the clash with successive breakthroughs and pushed the scores to 1-1. However, the 20-year-old Spaniard
held her serve and pounded on her opponent with big booming cross-court winners to register another breakthrough and lead the set 3-1. A serve hold at both ends pressed the scores to 4-2 in her favour.
Another swap of breakpoints took place on the red clay courts of Portugal that left Flor with just a serve hold to win the set. She was under the cosh for sometime in the final game but did well to save a breakpoint and marched
on with a set lead.
A double serve hold from both players registered a sloppy but cautious start to the second set. However, the deadlock ended with a successful breakthrough for the teen. She was on course to register a massive upset of the day.
Candela was once again trailing a break down and couldn’t find herself an opportunity to win the break back.
The scenario was set for the youngster to make her mark and defeat the superior ranked compatriot at the foreign soil with less crowd support. She kept on the pressure and won another breakpoint that proved to be the final play
of the match. She was the first to register her name into the main draw.
The list of the draws will be updated soon and she will get to know her first main round competitor. It will be a tough battle for her but seeing her stupendous performance in the qualifiers having defeated the third seed Aussie
starlet, Anastasia Rodionova, and then Candela, any result is possible.
Later in the day, the top seed Italian contestant, Roberta Vinci, steered her way into the second round of the contest with a win over the Russian wildcard entrant, Nina Bratchikova, in a tricky three-setter battle.
Tags: