Sania Mirza pounces over Kristina Barrois in the opening round – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Indian icon, Sania Mirza, bounced back at the German starlet, Kristina Barrois, in three sets at the BNP Paribas Open 2012 on Wednesday. She registered a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over the 30-year-old at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Mandatory event taking place in Indian Wells, United States.
The world number 130, Mirza maintained her winning record against the German after earning the spotlight in this two hour-long marathon. The contestants previously fought each other at the French Open last year but after pocketing this match, Mirza leaped to a 2-0 lead in the head-to-head series against Barrois.
Ranked 113th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Barrois made quick in-roads at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and smoothly held entire serves without facing any hindrance. She sought seven break chances and converted one to her advantage to claim the set with a 6-4 success.
The 25-year-old turned the tide in the second half. Despite losing her serve once, she cashed in three out of four break opportunities to pull out the equaliser by winning six games to two.
The high flying Indian lifted her game in the final set and assertively held her opening serve. She sought 10 break chances and availed two of them to prevail. Apart from losing her serve once, she managed to clinch the decider with a 6-4 score line.
All in all, the Indian clobbered a lower first serve share of 56 percent in contrast with Barrois’ 65 percent and acceptably marked 35 out of 51 points on it. She spilled more double faults and errors but converted five out of 14 break chances to her advantage. Mirza also displayed tremendous defensive skills and warded off seven out of 10 breakpoints she encountered.
She will face the 24th seed, Anabel Medina Garrigues, who received a bye into the second round after being a seeded player.
The Japanese veteran, Kimiko Date-Krumm, will accompany Mirza in the second round. She destroyed the French challenger, Pauline Parmentier, with a breadstick to secure this spot. The Japanese broke her rival’s serve five times to seal the deal with a 6-1, 6-3 score line.
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