Marina Erakovic, Olga Govortsova move into the second round – AEGON Classic 2011
Ranked 151st in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings, Marina Erakovic of New Zealand recorded a major 6-4, 6-4 upset over Spaniard Arantxa Parra Santonja to move into the second round of 2011 AEGON Classic in Birmingham.
Santonja looked a bit out of sorts and even struggled to get to the ball on occasion. Makin a large number of unforced errors in the match, the Spanish tennis-pro found her in a very difficult position and eventually wore out.
The New Zealander started off very confidently. Taking on a much higher ranked player, Erakovic played her natural game with full freedom. She was brave enough to come close to the net and force her opponent into making errors. Placing her lovely forehand and backhand winners all over the court, she raced to 5-3 lead in the opening set. An excellent drop shot from the baseline set up two set points for Erakovic and she converted the first one with a brilliant serve ace to earn the set score lead 1-0.
The second set also followed a very similar pattern with the 23-year-old Erakovic displaying some top quality tennis. Breaking the serve twice in the set, she earned a significant 5-2 lead. Santonja showed great determination and fighting spirit to break back and reduce her opponent’s advantage to 5-4. However, a successful conversion of Erakovic’s next service game ensured her straight sets victory in a match that lasted for only one hour and fourteen minutes.
Reaching an incredible 74 percent first serve conversion, Erakovic gained control of the rallies from the start and then made the challenger run for her money. With her strong performance in the serve return department, she secured points at crucial situations. Santonja struggled to find her form and managed to convert only one out of eight break chances in the match, which of course played a vital role in deciding the outcome of the clash.
Bulgarian tennis star Olga Govortsova also secured a hard fought 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory against Italian Romina Oprandi to move ahead at the 250 series tournament.
Looking in fabulous touch in her opening match here at the Edgbaston Priory Club, Govortsova showed her aggressive intent right from the start of the battle. She took the opening set after she broke her opponent twice. Making a remarkable fight back in the second set, Oprandi managed to up her game play and even the set score 1-1.
Some competitive tennis was witnessed in the final set as both players traded serve breaks. However Govortsova stayed firm and got back on track with a break of serve, leading 5-3 in the decider. She then held on to her fifth service game of the set to ensure her place in the next round.
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