Sabina Sharipova, Natalija Kostic move into the second round in Girls’ Singles – French Open 2011
Uzbek tennis-pro Sabina Sharipova defeated Frenchwoman Amandine Hesse in straight sets 7-6 (7), 6-3 on Sunday to advance in to the second round of 2011 (girls’ singles) French Open. Good competitive tennis was observed early on as the players traded serve breaks to force the opening set into the tie-breaker. The second set proved to be very one sided as the match ended in straight sets after one hour and 48 minutes of play.
Sharipova started with a very positive attitude. Her aggressive intent created a number of break opportunities for her in the opener. With her excellent foot work and blazing, she raced to a 4-1 lead in the set. Hesse showed great composure under pressure and concentrated hard on her game play. Converting the break chances she was given, she managed to take the set into a tie-breaker. Both players gave their 100 per cent to clinch the set but Sharipova stayed firm and clinched four straight points to earn the set score lead 1-0.
Having put her opponent under immense pressure with her heroics, the Uzbek continued to display some top quality tennis in the second set as well. A break of serve early in the set ensured her driving seat in the match. Breaking the serve three times in the set, she earned an impassable lead and then converted the first match point with a big backhand winner to end the proceedings.
Ranked 491st in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings, Sharipova dominated the challenger in almost all aspects of the game. Her first serve conversion was as good as 61 per cent where as Hesse managed only a mere 44 per cent for the match. She returned her opponent’s serve with great confidence and clinched nearly 50 per cent of the points in that department. In contrast, Hesse struggled with her serve and let Sharipova take control of the rallies. A large number of unforced errors did not held the cause either as she ended up on the losing side.
In another match in the girl’s division number four seed Natalija Kostic crushed local Lou Brouleau 6-3, 6-0 to book her place in the second round.
The Serbian tennis-pro made a shaky start to the match as she was broken early in the first set. However from there onwards she raised her game to an entirely new level and became unplayable for Brouleau. Breaking the serve three times in the opener, she established herself nicely in the contest. In the second set she did not allow her opponent to breath and claimed six games in a row to end the match that lasted for only 56 minutes.
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