Petra Martic, Naomi Broady through to the final qualies – Generali Ladies Linz 2011
Qualifying top seed Petra Martic of Croatia eased past Czech tennis pro Sandra Zahlavova 7-5, 6-0 on Sunday to advance into the final round of 2011 Generali Ladies Linz qualifying round here in Linz, Austria.
The Croat looked in commanding form in a match that lasted for only an hour and 33 minutes. Martic adopted a very attacking approach in the match and although she had a tough finding her form in the opening set, she looked in
complete control in second set to wrap the contest in straight sets. Ranked 52nd in the Women’s Association of Tennis, Martic has been in decent form since the start of this season. She will be hoping to continue her impressive run for the entire
week to clinch her first ever title at the WTA arena.
Zahlavova is quite an experienced professional and she did a great job to contain her opponent in the opening set. However, as the match progressed, she lost confidence in her shots, giving away a large number of unforced errors.
Being a very tough competitor, the Czech is expected to come back strongly on her next appearance on WTA tour.
Martic had a decent start to the match as she broke the serve early in the opening set to take 3-1 game score lead. Zahlavova put up a good fight and she broke straight back to stray in the set. Looking in control, Martic had her
second break opportunity in eleventh game of the set. Converting it with a big forehand winner down the line, she earned a crucial 6-5 lead, serving for the set. Martic bagged the opening after she held on to her service game with four straight points.
Martic continued to dominate her rival in second set as well. Hitting the ball cleanly, she dashed her ferocious forehand and backhand winners all over the court. Not dropping a single game in the set, she closed out the match
to move ahead at the WTA tournament.
Meanwhile, Brit youngster, Naomi Broady had a pleasant day here in Linz as she also made it to the final round with a superb 6-4, 7-6 (2) victory over Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak.
Broady looked in a very competitive mood in a match that lasted for nearly 2 hours. Breaking the serve at regular intervals, she always stayed ahead of her opponent to gain the psychological advantage in the match. World number
209, Broady will be hoping to extend her winning streak to earn valuable WTA ranking points.
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