Melanie Oudin books a second round place at the 2011 Grand Prix De SAR
Melanie Oudin of United States came back from a set deficit 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 against Spanish Lourdes Dominguez Lino on Wednesday to make it to the second round at the 2011 Grand Prix De SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Morocco.
The match was played on a highly competitive note as both players traded serve breaks in the opening set. Lino broke the serve first with a wonderful backhand winner. Oudin bounced back well with a serve break however Lino held
her nerves and clinched four straight points to claim the opener 4-6.
Oudin turned the tables in the following set with some high quality tennis. The American lifted her spirits and made a phenomenal come back as she dropped only a game to level the set score 1-1. Oudin executed her forehand and
backhand shots brilliantly and created all sort of problems for her opponent with her powerful and accurate serves.
Having put her opponent under extreme pressure, Oudin continued to play her natural game freely in the final set. She made most of the opportunities that were presented to her and broke the serve twice to seal the match after 2
hours and 7 minutes of play. The American tennis-pro handled the pressure very well and stuck to her strengths.
Although Oudin made a few double faults early in the match, she quickly regrouped herself and earned vital points with serve aces. Her first serve conversion was as high as 71 per cent and she claimed nearly 60 per cent of the
points on serve return. The 19-year-old converted 5 out 9 break points to establish firm control over the contest.
Ranked 93rd in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings, Oudin will be feeling very confident after defeating a player ranked much higher than her. She has been struggling to find her peak form on the tour and experienced
first/second round losses at several WTA tournaments she participated in since the start of the season. She will be hoping to carry over her winning momentum as she takes on Albert Brianti in her next match-up at the red clay courts of Fes.
Lino on the other hand made a bright start but soon lost the plot. She could have tightened the screws after she lead the set score 1-0. However, she failed to rise to the occasion and made few critical mistakes in the process.
She will be eyeing a strong return in her next appearance at the WTA arena.
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