Shuai Zhang and Eva Birnerova through to the second round qualifiers of the Sony Ericsson Open
World number 77, Shuai Zhang edged past Alison Riske of the United States in the opening round qualifiers of the Sony Ericsson Open at Miami, Florida on Monday. Fifth seed Chinese defeated Riske in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, taking
one hour and forty one minutes of play.
Zhang exhibited her brilliant tennis skills once again to register her 11th victory of the running WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) season. She served magnificently with 82 per cent accuracy, without conceding a double
fault and gave minimum chances to her opponent to get the better of her.
The 20-year-old American served with 65 per cent accuracy and committed four double faults to suffer her seventh defeat of the current year. Riske had good defensive technique and saved nine break opportunities in the game but
she was led down in the game by her lack of aggression.
The contest ignited with an action-packed opening set as both contestants exchanged a pair of break points to reach 4-4. A third serve break by Zhang sealed the first set for her at 6-4, giving her a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Chinese kept her winning momentum in the second set as well and pressurized her American opponent with her 89 per cent first serve. Zhang suffered one serve break from her opponent but cracked two in return to win the contest
at 6-4.
Zhang will book a date with Eva Birnerova of Czech Republic in the second round qualies of the Sony Ericsson Open. The Czech defeated the 22nd seed Frenchwoman, Pauline Parmentier in the opening round of the qualifiers,
beating her 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, in two hours and thirty one minutes of play.
Birnerova had a decent start to the contest but had to recover after a second set slump to register victory. Despite of 70 per cent first serve accuracy, the Czech spilled out seven double faults, which were still less than Permantier’s
nine. Birnerova collected 113 while her opponent followed with 104 out of total 217 points being played in the game.
The two contestants were bestowed with plenty of break opportunities but they squandered away most of them. The French got 16 opportunities to break but she cashed in just five, while her opponent had 17 break points and she converted
merely six of them.
After winning the hard fought first set at 7-5, Birnerova seemed to have lost her steam and dropped the second set at 4-6 to Parmentier. A stiff contest was anticipated in the decisive third set but the French crumbled under the
match, giving away a number of unforced errors, including three double faults. One serve break from Birnerova proved sufficient for her as she ensured victory by closing the third set at 6-3, booking a spot in the round two of the qualies. She needs to take
down Shuai Zhang to make a place in the main draws of the Sony Ericsson Open.
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