Sara Errani beats Alberta Brianti in the quarter-final round – Budapest Grand Prix 2012
Top seed Italian, Sara Errani, continues her blistering run of form at the Budapest Grand Prix, outmuscling her fellow compatriot, Alberta Brianti, in the quarter-final round of the tournament on Thursday. The world number 27,
Errani, wrapped up the proceedings in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0, to reach the semi-finals of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Tour event in Budapest, Hungary.
The contest was completely dominated by the top seeded Italian, who thrashed Brianti to all parts of the clay courts throughout the one hour and 24-minute battle. The 32-year-old underdog contender posed some early resistance in
the opening set of the match but lost all of her steam in the following set of the match to let Errani through to the last four of the event. The top seed defeated Brianti last year in a clay court event in Barcelona, Spain, 6-2, 6-3. It was a far easier win
for Errani this time round in Budapest and she attained a 2-0 lead in the head-to-head series against the fellow Italian.
The 27th ranked hot favourite delivered 78 per cent of her first serve on target and bagged 26 out of 43 points on it to drive her opponent out of the competition. She crafted a total of 14 break opportunities in the
match but only five conversions proved sufficient to clinch an emphatic victory in style. Brianti registered just one break out of seven opportunities to finish on the losing side in the end.
"It's difficult to play against someone you know well," Errani said after winning her 25th victory of the running season. "There was more tension than in a usual match and I think that showed in the first set, which
was not too good. I got better in the second set and in the end I was playing well."
Errani will feature the semi-final clash of the Budapest Grand Prix on Friday and will face the unseeded Georgian contender, Anna Tatishvili, for earning a title shot at this tournament. Tatishvili made one of the biggest upsets
of the event when she outplayed the third seed Bulgarian, Tsvetana Pironkova, in the opening round. She registered a 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4, win over the unseeded Canadian, Aleksandra Wozniak, in the quarter-final round on Thursday.
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