Sarah Gronert slays Eva Birnerova to reach second round – Nurnberger Gastein Ladies 2012
German challenger, Sarah Gronert, devastated the Plzen challenger, Eva Birnerova, with a bagel at the Nurnberger Gastein Ladies 2012 on Tuesday. She jolted down a 6-2, 6-0 victory against the 27-year-old to breeze into the second round at this WTA (Women’s
Tennis Association) International tournament taking place in Bad Gastein.
The German rising star displayed flawless performance and subsequently crushed Birnerova for the first time in their third encounter. After dominating in 52-minute marathon, Gronert not only lowered trail in the head-to-head series by 1-2 against the world
number 104 but also progressed into the round of 16.
Gronert made a stunning start at this red clay court tournament and after Birnerova held her serve in the opening game, she went on a five-game rampage to leap to a 5-1 lead. She then plucked her serve once more and pulled out the opener with a 6-2 score
line. The German swiped her entire serves without facing any trouble and capitalised on two out of three break chances to get the upper hand.
Ranked 173rd in the WTA Premier Rankings, Gronert maintained her intensity in the follow-up set. She unleashed barrage of groundstrokes to reel off all six games consecutively, eventually sealing the set with a bagel. The German again held her
entire serves without facing any breakpoint and cashed in three out of five break opportunities to earn the fame.
Summing up the 25-year-old performance, Gronert capitalised fully on several unforced errors and double faults the Czech committed. She clobbered an equal first serve share of 38 per cent but spectacularly availed 14 out of 15 points on it.
Next up for Gronert is the winner of the match between Czech Republic’s Zuzana Ondraskova and the American qualifier, Chichi Scholl.
The Luxembourgian star, Mandy Minella, will accompany Gronert in the second round. She penned down a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Croatia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in one hour and 12 minutes. Minella lost her serve four times but capitalised on six out of eight break
opportunities to steal the spotlight. She also nudged up a better first serve share and amazingly marked 22 out of 35 points on it.
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