Mattek-Sands/ Oudin defeat Xinyun/ Shamayko in the first round – e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open 2011
As expected, the top seeded pair of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Melanie Oudin of America had no difficulty in disposing off the Chinese-Russian duo of Han Xinyun and Marina Shamayko in the first round of the e-Boks Sony Ericsson
Open’s doubles category.
Match being played at the Farum, Denmark, Mattek-Sands and Oudin outclassed their opponents in straight sets 6-2, 6-4, to move into the second round of the WTA (Women Tennis Association) tournament.
The American pair rolled through the first set, breaking the Chinese-Russian duo three times with well-placed shots that jerked them side to side and up and back. The Chinese-Russian duo of Xinyun and Shamayko were breathing heavily
throughout the match as their opponents gave them a considerable run for their money.
Mattek-Sands and Oudin had more aces in the match with four to their opponent’s one, and a brilliant winning percentage of 72 percent on serves. However, the bad news was that their 42 percent break points winning percentage was
still lower than their opponent’s 100 percent, but the American pair displayed a great deal of composure and managed to close out the match 71 minutes.
Weighed down by expectations, the Chinese-Russian duo lost the match to the top-seeded duo of Mattek-Sands and Oudin with a huge difference of 20 and had to face an early exit.
To put it simply, the initial stage of the contest made all the difference. Xinyun and Shamayko faltered in the beginning and, despite desperate efforts in the later part of the match, could never make a comeback. Once the American
duo raced to a 6-2 lead in the first set, they were intelligent enough not to fritter away the early advantage in the later parts of the game.
However, it was not that Chinese-Russian duo of Xinyun and Shamayko gave away the match easily. At one point of time, it looked all over when they lost their serves in the eighth game of the first set, but the next set saw Xinyun
playing some inspired tennis to corner her opponents. However, the American duo had the last laugh as they came up with few majestic shot to close out the match at 6-2, 6-4.
If there was any hope of Chinese-Russian duo making amends of their initial mistake, it was washed away in the second set as Shamayko surrendered her service game and as the American players attacked with vengeance, Xinyun and
her partner looked visibly tired.
Up next for the American duo is the French-Polish duo of Kristine Mladenovic and Katarzyna Piter in the quarterfinal of the 2011 e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open.
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