Roberta Vinci slays Maria Joao Koehler to reach the last eight – Estoril Open 2012
Italian top seed, Roberta Vinci, had no holds barred against the 19-year-old Portuguese, Maria Joao Koehler, in the second round of the Estoril Open on Wednesday. She survived the cursed day for seeded players with resounding straight
sets 6-2, 6-0 victory.
Both players were facing off one another for the first time in their professional careers. There were obvious nerves at the start for the local teen that cost her lot in the end. She was never allowed to open up and play her natural
aggressive game. Her strokes were limited with some delicate placements from the 29-year-old Italian.
The opening set witnessed a serve holds at the start for both players before the top seed Italian stamped her authority with a cracking breakthrough in the fourth game. Koehler delighted the crowd by winning four back-to-back points
in the third serve game but her cameo was short live as her opponent pounced on her in the eighth game that proved to be the final action of the set.
Vinci smashed a couple of aces and forced her opponent in committing two double-faults. She converted two of her allotted five breakpoints and didn’t give a single opportunity to her rival to break serve. With a difference of nine
points, the Italian veteran took the first set and imposed her authority.
The second set was even worse for the local teen. Italian top seed won eight out of 11 points at the start to register a lead of 2-0 and saved three breakpoints on the trot in the following game to keep her lead intact. Portuguese
booming starlet could only win a single point on her second serve game and gifted another breakthrough to her opponent that raised the lead to 4-0.
Another tight serve hold was followed up with some smashing cross-court winners to complete a thunderous bagel. It was a stunning performance from the Italian who is the hot favourite contender to take the crown.
Highlights of the second set included a couple of aces from Vinci coupled with three stunning backhand winners down the line and one drop shot that entertained the crowd. She won 34 points out of 53 total contested.
Roberta Vinci will lock horns with another seeded survivor, Nadia Petrova. The seventh seed Russian defeated the injury-stricken Aussie, Jarmila Gajdosova, who suffered from a left knee injury at the end of the first set and pulled
out of the contest.
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