Simona Halep overcomes injury-stricken Fatima Zahrae El Allami in round one – Fes WTA 2012
Fifth seed, Simona Halep, earned a 6-1 retirement victory against the local wild card entrant, Fatima Zahrae El Allami, at the Grand Prix De SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem 2012 on Tuesday. The 23-year-old local starlet suffered a stomach illness after the
first set, eventually exiting from the opening round at the Royal Tennis Club de Fes.
The Romanian number one was leading 6-1 when El Allami was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to illness. As a result, Halep progressed into the round of 16 at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International-level tournament taking place in Fes,
Morocco.
Ranked 55th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Halep assertively stepped on the Moroccan clay courts and held her serve in the opening with poise. After the wild card entrant levelled the scores at 1-1, the Romanian unleashed barrage of groundstrokes
to go on a five-game killing spree. She slid her entire serves without facing any trouble and cashed in both break chances to seal the opener with a breadstick.
The 20-year-old manipulated a lower first serve share of 57 per cent as opposed to the Moroccan’s 72 per cent and spectacularly availed nine out of 12 on her first serve share.
After suffering a brutal loss in the first set, the world number 760 was unable to continue the match due to stomach illness, consequently rewarding Halep a second round spot.
Halep will next encounter her compatriot, Alexandra Cadantu, who bounced over the defending champion, Alberta Brianti, in a three set nail-biter to set-up this battle.
The third seed, Petra Cetkovska, will accompany Halep in the second round. She took down the Hungarian qualifier, Melinda Czink, in straight sets in their first meeting.
"It was really a tough match," said Cetkovska in a post-match interview. "She's a great player who is coming back from an injury. She won two matches in qualifying. I'm really happy because first round matches are always difficult, especially with the tough
conditions here."
The Czech veteran, who is currently ranked 30th in the WTA rankings, broke her opponent’s serve three times to steal the show in one hour and 18 minutes.
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