Patricia Iveth Ku Flores, Carol Zhao win in the Girls’ Singles – French Open 2011
Patricia Iveth Ku Flores of Peru defeated American Stephanie Nauta 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to make it to the second round of 2011 (girls’ singles) French Open in Paris. The Peruvian tennis-pro made a bright start to the match and although
she lost her way in the second set, she was able to clinch victory with solid performance in the decider.
Looking to gain control in the contest, Flores looked to attack right from the start. With her incredible and strong ground play she was able to push her opponent deep behind the baseline as she dominated the rallies. Breaking
her opponent early in the first, she raced to 3-1 lead in the set. Nauta showed great presence of mind and earned few cheap points to brake back and even the set score at 3-3. However, from there on Flores raised the level of her game and pocketed the next
three games in a row to earn the set score lead 1-0.
Despite her woes in the opener, Nauta made a brilliant come back in the second set. Seeking for an entry back into the match, the American tennis player broke serve to gain some momentum. All of a sudden, Flores was unable to execute
her big forehand and backhand winners and committed a number of unforced errors in the match. Leading the game score 5-2, Nauta broke the serve for the third time in the set to force the match into the final set.
Both players displayed some high quality tennis in the decider. After serve breaks were exchanged at regular intervals, the match entered an exciting phase. Nauta, who led the score 4-2 at one stage, lost her concentration and
suffered a double serve break. Flores on the other hand showed great determination and mental strength as she handle the pressure very well. Leading 5-4 in the set, she held on to her next service game to seal an emphatic victory in a match that lasted for
more than 2 hour and 10 minutes.
In another match at the Women’s Tennis Association tournament Canadian Carol Zhao secured a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 victory over Ilona Kremen of Belarus to advance into the second round.
Zhao looked on top of her game and did not allow the challenger to breath throughout the match. She broke the serve seven times in the match and held on to most of her serve games to complete her win in straight sets. Her first
serve conversion was as high as 70 per cent while she also dominated her opponent in the serve return department by securing 59 per cent of the points.
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