Mona Barthel sails past Julie Coin in second qualifying round – Open GDF Suez 2012
German tennis ace, Mona Barthel, halted the French contestant, Julie Coin, from entering the main rounds of the Open GDF Suez; defeating her in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 in the second qualifying round.
Both players were playing against one another for the first time in their professional careers and it was obvious that they start off in a nervy fashion. Barthel was recently enjoying a good run of form, winning consistently in
her voyages to a number of recent tournaments. Her opponent was going through a topsy turvy phase in her career, without any consistency in the results.
The German contestant had already bagged the season-opener, Hobart International tournament, defeating the top seed competitor, Yanina Wickmayer, in the finals. Things were looking good for the German as she started-off the proceedings
with a successful serve game.
Nervy start from Coin cost her first serve game of the set; Barthel moved on with an initial lead of two games and further enhanced her lead by holding on to her serve in the following game. No more breaks were witnessed in the
set, despite some severe power play at either ends. Barthel was under the cosh in the fifth game but she used her guile to oust her opponent and successfully hold her serve game.
Trailing one set down, Coin was heading towards another disappointing ending to a promising start. She looked aggressive in the midst of the first set but wasn’t lucky enough to gobble up those vital points that could have translated
in a breakthrough.
Coin commenced the second set proceedings in commanding fashion, winning the first serve game comprehensively and showing no signs of nerves at all. Both players traded breakpoints in the following two games and the scores progressed
to 2-2.
No more drama was witnessed in the next four games as both players held their respective serves; scores were pushed to 4-4. A flurry of breakthroughs at both ends witnessed a shuffling in the scores. Barthel took the lead by bagging
two successive breakpoints and held her serve in order to diminish all chances of a possible comeback.
Top seed Barthel moves into the third round of the qualifiers and faces the likes of seventh seed, Varvara Lepchenko of America. It is going to be in interesting battle between the two players. Barthel is expected to win the contest
but a possible upset is also predicted by the analyst considering the fact that Lepchenko is in sublime form.
Tags: