Roberta Vinci rallies past Simona Halep into second round – Open GDF Suez 2012
Seventh seeded Italian, Roberta Vinci, sailed past the Romaine opponent Simona Halep into the second round of the 2012 Open GDF Suez on Wednesday, 8th February in Paris, France. The pair toiled for 74 minutes before Vinci emerged as the victor with a twin-set, 6-4, 6-4, win over Halep.
This was the pair’s first meeting ever on the courts with the Italian sailing to a comfortable 1-0 lead in the head to head.
Winning the toss, Halep started strong in the first set and broke her opponent in the second game to lead the opener 3-0. Fighting back befitting a seeded player, Vinci broke back in the fifth game with successful hold of serves on her own to bring the score to three games each. The pair continued to win on their serves to bring the scores to four games each. However, this was Halep’s last win in the first set as Vinci converted another breakpoint to her advantage in the ninth game to serve out the game at 5-4, clinching a 6-4 win for her.
Capitalizing off Halep’s three double faults, Vinci clinched a total of 80 percent points on her first serve to go one up in the set score.
Halep once more opened the second set with much ease, making her way onto the scoreboard. However, devastating in her attack, Vinci clinched back-to-back break points to lead the score 4-1. Although, Halep was able to break back in the eighth game and hold her own in the ninth to reduce the deficit to 5-4, it was not enough to hold the Italian at bay. Serving out another set at 5-4, Vinci was able to register another 6-4 win sealing off her straight sets victory.
The seventh seed now moves on ahead to play American qualifier, Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the second round. Mattek-Sands did away with German qualifier Kristina Barrois in straight, albeit not so simple, sets to move on ahead in the event. Taking nearly eighty eight minutes, the American hit a resounding total of ten aces and a whopping 82 percent on her first serve, to ensure her survival at the event.
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