Roberta Vinci defeats Lucie Hradecka in opening round – New Haven Open 2011
Italian tennis player Roberta Vinci Ramos came back from a set deficit to overcome Czech Lucie Hradecka 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Monday to book her place in the second round of 2011 WTA New Haven Open in New Haven, United
States.
Unseeded at the Women’s Tennis Association tournament, Lucie Hradecka made a bright start to the match. Executing her big forehand and backhand winners to perfection, she broke her opponent early in the opening set to take a healthy
4-2 lead. The Czech did not allow her opponent to settle in the match as she made most of the available opportunities to put herself in the driving seat. Displaying some high quality tennis through the opening set, she took the set score lead 1-0.
Roberta Vinci Made a great comeback in the following set after she looked down and out in the opener. The Italian created all sorts of problems for her opponent from deep behind the baseline as she stroke the ball fiercely. Holding
on to her service games without any problem, she evened the game score 3-3 to shift the balance of the match. Breaking her opponent for the first time in the match, she took a crucial 4-3 lead.
Leading 5-3 in the second set, Vinci had her second break chance. Converting it with a blistering serve ace she evened the set score as the match entered the final set.
Ranked 19th in the WTA rankings, Vinci continued to play her natural game freely in the final set as well. Making her opponent run for her money, she used the court to her advantage very effectively. Breaking the serve
twice, she raced to an impassable 5-1 lead. Hradecka broke back once to reduce the deficit but she couldn’t stop her opponent from earning a well deserved victory in match that lasted for 1 hour and 44 minutes.
Vinci, who has special liking for fast surfaces, showed just why she can be a very dangerous opponent on the hard courts. At Cullman-Heyman Tennis Centre, she looked in commanding form as she dominated Hradecka in almost every
department of the game. Although she had a shaky start to the match, she was able to serve her way out of the trouble. With an impressive 64 per cent first serve, she managed to take control of the rallies right from the start and then placed her winners to
perfection.
Hradecka served brilliantly as she fired 9 serve aces in the match. However, she struggled to cope with Italian’s pace in other aspects of the game. She will be looking to work hard on several areas of her game to achieve consistent
results on the tour.
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