Marion Bartoli gets rid of top seed Samantha Stosur in title match – HP Japan Open 2011
Second seeded Marion Bartoli overpowered top seed Samantha Stosur in the title match of the HP Japan Open 2011. The two took up the gauntlet on outdoor hard courts of Utsubo Tennis Center in Osaka, Japan. After simply one hour
and fourteen minutes the second seeded Frenchwoman got rid of the US Open Champion Stosur in straight sets of 6-3, 6-1 and in doing so; not only won the accolade but also is a step closer to securing the eighth and final berth in the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships.
The first round of the match was initiated by the Australian Stosur, who expertly handled her serve to open the scoreboard at 1-0. Following in her footsteps was Bartoli, who too held her serve successfully and placed herself right
beside the top seed at 1-1 on the scoreboard. The players then held serve for the following four games and the scores tied at 2-2 and then 3-3 by the end of the sixth game.
During the seventh and the eighth games, Bartoli capitalized on a lucky break and then held serve to take the lead at 5-3. She was now only a game away from bagging the opening set and as she held serve by smashing a backhand winner,
she clogged away with the opening set and was now one up in the match.
Stosur was unable to capitalize on the two breakpoint opportunities as Bartoli had tactfully saved them and she lost most of her points on her second service games, along with, not being able to bag a good return resulted in her
losing the opening set.
The second set was initiated by the Frenchwoman and she got off to a great start as she not only held her serve but also capitalized on an early break in the second game to rotate the scoreboard to a 2-0 lead. As she again won
on her serve, the scoreboard advanced to a 3-0.
It was in the fourth game that Stosur was able to bag a game and bring the deficit to a 1-3. However, in the following game Bartoli again increased the lead by holding her service game and capitalized from a fortunate break in
the sixth game. At this point in the match, Bartoli was now serving for the match and as she smashed a marvellous forehand down the line, she sealed her victory of the set and the match.
After winning the title Bartoli said, “I'm very happy with the way I played this week, I felt my level dropped in August, especially at the US Open, but now I'm playing well again. Obviously to win a title is great”.
This was the Frenchwoman's second title for the season. She had earlier clinched a title win in June at Eastbourne, Great Britain when she ousted Petra Kvitova in the final.
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