Sabine Lisicki mows down Simona Halep in the 1st round – Bank of the West Classic 2011
Tuesday, 26th of July 2011, was the continuation of the first round of the Bank of the West Classic Tournament 2011. The two players contesting for the first time were Sabine Lisicki and Simona
Halep. They competed against each other on the outdoor hard courts at the Taube Family Tennis Center, Stanford University, California. Lisicki won the match in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.
The first set of the match saw Lisicki serve with determination and strike an ace however, lack of precision caused her to strike two line faults where as Simona performed unsatisfactorily and with a poor precession she struck
five double faults (three of which hit the net while the other two were line faults).
Although Halep managed to hit fifty two percent of her first serve shots on target, she lost points in the second serve, along with a below the par return. Mean while, Sabine’s defence was more stable and solid as she did not give
a single break point opportunity to her opponent along with an exceptional serve, she won seventy one percent of her total serve points and thirteen more points in the total set score.
Amidst the second set, Halep’s performance improved slightly and this time she managed to perfect her definitude by not throwing double faults. However, she gave her opponent five break point opportunities, along with an average
serve and return serve, she was able to convert only one break point to her advantage.
Although the German (Sabine) had committed three unforced errors, she was able to hit four aces in the set. She had a commendable serve and was able to clench fifty nine percent of her total service points. Additionally, she was
able to save fifty percent of her break points while at the same time she capitalized on three break point opportunities that were presented to her by her opponent.
Concluding, Sabine was a better player than her 19-year-old opponent; she won the match because of her endurance, skill, defence and technique.
The 21-year-old won the match in straight sets. She will be playing against the Australian Samantha Stosur in the second round of the championships.
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