Simona Halep outclasses Carla Suarez Navarro in round one – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
Romanian tennis sensation, Simona Halep, registered a hard-fought victory in the opening round of the Sony Ericsson Open on Tuesday, dumping Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain. Unseeded in the tournament, Halep laboured for two hours
and forty five minutes to rout the 66th ranked Spaniard in three sets, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3, to clear the opening round of the mega event in Miami, Florida.
It was a gruelling battle in the opening set but tended to become a fairly one-sided affair in the later parts of the match. Halep faced some real tough time from the Navarro in the opener, dragging the set into a tie-breaker before
losing it eventually. She came back very strongly and raced through the games with the utmost ease to reel off the following two sets en route to victory.
Navarro led 2-0 in the all-time head-to-head series against Halep prior to this match and her emphatic start in the opening set hinted that the Spaniard will maintain her clean record against Halep. She was well on course to victory
in the earlier parts of the match but bobbed down later to fritter away her advantage. The 23-year-old dropped the last two sets with identical scores of 6-3, 6-3, to end her voyage at the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Mandatory event in Miami.
Halep was phenomenal with her serve throughout the matchup, delivering 81 per cent of it on target and clinching 49 out of 83 first serve points en route to victory. She crafted a total of 19 break opportunities in the match and
converted eight of them, whilst Navarro registered five out of 10 break points to finish on the losing side in the end. Halep raided her opponent’s serve very aggressively and her return shots earned her 45 out of 87 points, which proved to be the differentiating
factor in the contest.
Halep will face off against the 32nd seed Russian veteran, Nadia Petrova, in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open. Petrova received a bye to begin her voyage in Miami from the second round of the tournament and
will take on Halep on Thursday.
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