Roberta Vinci eases past Chanelle Scheepers in the quarterfinals – Taxes Tennis Open 2012
Ranked 23rd in the WTA Premier Rankings, Roberta Vinci of Italy disposed the South African, Chanelle Scheepers, in straight sets, 7-6(1), 6-2, in the quarter-finals of the Texas Tennis Open on Wednesday.
The Italian took a total of one hour and 40 minutes to outnumber her rival and qualified for the semi-final draw.
Both contenders provided each other tough competition since the start of the match. Vinci served the initial set bringing the scores to 1-0, instantly it levelled to 2-2 from her opponent. She maintained an upper hand and
broke her opponent’s serve twice to take the lead. The South African native equalized the scores five times in the set to keep moving on even terms, eventually enforcing a tie-breaker into play and Vinci emerged as a surprise winner.
The 29-year-old Italian tennis star neither smashed a single ace nor did she double faulted. She had an average first serve percentage of 52 but fortunately, she bagged 14 of 22 first and 12 of 20 second deliveries. On the
contrary, the seventh seeded Scheepers double faulted twice, with a higher first serve percentage of 60. She pocketed 16 of 29 first and nine of 19 second serve points in the opening set of the match.
Vinci took a steady start in the following set and broke the South African’s initial serve to lead 1-0. The 28-year-old South African struggled hard but was unable to pick momentum. The Italian veteran took advantage of her
opponent’s low confidence and clinched the first two games, giving her a 2-0 advantage. Eventually, she pounced forward and to end the match with a final score of 6-2 to reach the semis of the Texas Tennis Open.
The third seeded Italian participant smashed aces twice and double faulted once in the second set. She has a moderate first serve percentage of 59, bagging away 14 of 23 first and 10 of 14 second serve points. Scheepers was
unable to deliver an ace but to her disadvantage double faulted twice. She had a fine first serve percentage of 61, securing 10 of 14 and two of nine serve points.
The Italian will face Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovsk in the semi-final round of the tournament on Thursday afternoon. The Serbian gave the fifth seeded Chinese, Shuai Peng, a stunning upset in the previous round on Wednesday.
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