Shuai Peng downs Polona Hercog to reach the third round – French Open 2011
Chinese tennis-pro Shuai Peng thrashed out Polona Hercog of Poland on Wednesday to advance into the third round of 2011 French Open in Paris.
Peng made a slow start to the contest but as the match progressed she was able to find her form and played some cracking shots to ensure her straight sets victory over her opponent.
The Chinese looked a bit rusty in the opening set as a number of her forehand and backhand shots landed outside the lines. Hercog was up to take complete advantage of her opponent’s mistake and executed her game plan brilliantly to earn a considerable lead in the set. Being the more established player in the match, Hercog looked on course to take the opener.
However, Peng had other ideas as she broke the serve twice to clinch the set 7-5. Peng’s on target serve allowed her to pressurise her opponent at crucial moments during the set. With a lovely forehand winner down the line, she was able to take the set score lead 1-0.
Having gained the psychological advantage over her opponent, the Chinese continued to concentrate on her own game play and broke the serve twice more to take complete control of the situation. Hercog failed to control her nerves under pressure and struggled to time her shots.
She smashed an easy backhand shot on to the net to set up two match points for Peng, who converted the very first one to close out the match.
Peng’s controlled and accurate serving proved to be the real difference between the contestants at the end of the day. The 25-year-old reached an awesome 71 per cent first serve conversion as compared to only 55 per cent managed by the challenger. Her break points conversion was also an impressive 80 per cent as compared to only 25 per cent achieved by Hercog. Being in commanding form over the last few weeks, Peng will be looking to continue her good run on the clay courts of Roland Garros by reaching the final stages.
After having a tough time on the tour in 2010, Peng has showed astonishing determination to regroup herself as she made a strong come back. She started the year with a semi-final appearance at Auckland and since then she hasn’t looked back. Following her consistent performances, she rose to world number 25 in WTA rankings. She had an excellent preparation for the French open tournament at Brussels where she stood runner up to world number Caroline Wozniacki. Her next round opponent will be the current French Open champion, Francesca Schiavone, who secured easy wins in her opening two matches here in Paris.
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