Monica Niculescu eases pass Patricia Mayr-Achleitner in 1st round – US Open 2011
The main draw of the US Open started just after Hurricane Irene granted its permission. The two players competing against each other were Austrian Patricia Mayr-Achleitner and Romaine Monica Niculescu. Although, both the players
are ranked in the top 100, Niculescu is currently standing at world number 70 while, Achleitner is at world number 86.
Duelling on court 9 of the all time famous USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Niculescu kept her cool and saw a comprehensive 6-3, 6-3 victory in a thrilling match of 84 minutes.
Meeting for the first time, both were unfamiliar with each other’s style and performance but the Romaine walked on the court with a strong confidence about her and serving first was broken by her opponent at which the score card
read at 0-1 but looking for revenge Niculescu pounced at the first opportunity to break her opponent, which was in the following game. By the third set Niculescu was leading 2-1 but again in the fourth she again broke Achleitner to take the statistical edge
that she required. Winning on her serve in the fifth game she went on to break her challenger again in the fifth game and this time she had completely blown away the Austrian. It wasn’t for the Austrian to be left out and although, she tried to make a comeback
by breaking her in the seventh game and holding her serve in the eighth, she lost the set as Niculescu won the point on her serve and snatched the set at 6-3.
After winning in the first set, Niculescu was looking for an easy pass in the second and even though, this set was a bit longer than the first, she had set the pattern.
The second set saw both the players breaking each other initially in the first two games then they both won on their alternate serves but Niculescu broke her opponent again in the fifth game to take the lead at 3-2. She then held
her serve in the eighth game to break her opponent for the third and final time to serve the set in the ninth game.
Taking the final opportunity to break her opponent in the ninth game, Niculescu was able to secure a berth in second round of the US Open 2011.
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