Mathilde Johansson outsmarts Irina Falconi in 1st round – HP Japan Open 2011
French Mathilde Johansson got the better of American Irina Falconi in the main draw of the HP Japan Open 2011. The players took up the gauntlet on outdoor hard courts of the Utsubo Tennis Center in Osaka, Japan. After one hour
and thirty one minutes, the Frenchwomen scored in straight sets of 6-3, 6-2 over her American rival on Monday the 10th of October 2011.
Serving for the initial round of the match was Johansson, who was unable to hold her serve but she soon broke back in the second game and equalized the score to 1-1. In the next two games the players won on alternate serves and
the score once again tied at 2-2.
Johansson cut the goose chase as she held serve in the third game and in the fourth she broke Falconi to take the lead at 4-2 by the end of the sixth game. As the players won on alternate games in the remaining three games, Johansson
clogged the opening set with a 6-3 victory.
Opening the second set was Falconi and she not only held her serve in the first game but also broke her adversary in the second to reel straight two games and took a mini lead of 2-0. Johansson was not ready to give up without
a fight and she held serve in the third game and by the fourth she tied the score at 2-2 by breaking her adversary.
During the next two games, the Frenchwoman won a game on her serve and then broke her adversary once again to take the lead at 4-2. She repeated the feat in the last two games and bagged a speedy 6-2 victory of the second set and
the match.
Overall in the match, Johansson targeted 65 percent of her first serves and won a 64 percent, she further capitalized on five out of six breakpoint opportunities and benefitted from the two aces, while, Falconi was unable to capitalize
on five break points out of the total six.
Although, comparatively Falconi was a higher ranked player but against Johansson she was unable to perform to her utmost and lost the match in straight sets. Nevertheless, Johansson won the first meeting between the two and expertly
managed to secure a place in the second round of the event.
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