Marion Bartoli overshadows Ayumi Morita in quarterfinal – HP Japan Open 2011
Second seed Marion Bartoli overpowered the sixth seed Ayumi Morita in the quarterfinal of the HP Japan Open 2011. The two rivals took up the gauntlet on the outdoor hard courts of Utsubo Tennis Center in Osaka, Japan. After a thrilling one hour and twenty four minutes the second seeded Frenchwoman overshadowed the sixth seeded Japanese in straight sets of 6-2, 6-1 on Saturday the 15th of October 2011.
The first round of the match was initiated by Morita and as she served nervously, she double faulted in the first game and endorsed a game to her adversary. This was Morita’s worst nightmare since the head-to-head score was led by Bartoli at 6-0. The Frenchwoman quickly capitalized on the breakpoint and then held her serve to lead the scoreboard with a 2-0. In the following two games the players each won a service game and the scoreboard had progressed to a 3-1 at the end of the fourth game with Bartoli leading.
Amidst the fifth and the sixth games, the players won on alternate serves and the scoreboard further advanced to a 4-2 score, Bartoli led the set with a game and a break. As the pressure increased Morita again double faulted and gave away a crucial game to Bartoli, who then skilfully held serve to go one up in the match with a 6-2 victory.
The second round of the match was again commenced by Morita and once again she got off to an appalling start. This time Bartoli capitalized on two early breaks and squandered off with a 4-0 lead on the scoreboard by the end of the first four games.
It was in the fifth game that the "sleeping beauty" (Morita) realized she has to bag a game and she did that by barely holding her serve. However, Bartoli was now only two games away from her success and as she utilized the serve-break technique, she ran off with a breadstick victory of the second set and the match.
The second seeded Frenchwoman not only increased her head-to-head score to a 7-0 lead but also reserved a spot in the semi-final where she will be facing third seed Angelique Kerber.
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