Simona Halep upsets Daniela Hantuchova in the opening round clash – Qatar Total Open 2012
Upsets keep coming on the second day of the Qatar Total Open, with the world number 20, Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, suffering a cracking defeat at the hands of the 63rd ranked Romanian tennis ace, Simona Halep. The
first round encounter was played on the hard courts of Qatar, Doha, on Tuesday afternoon and the 20-year-old unseeded wrapped up her surprise victory at 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(4).
The contest witnessed Halep making the most enthralling comeback in the tournament so far and flabbergasted everyone with her exceptional tennis skills. The Romanian youngster was ousted in the opening set of the match but had
an impactful second set triumph to remain alive in the contest. She was down by two serve breaks and even faced a match point at 5-6 but it the sheer determination and focus of Halep that helped her to deny Hantuchova from converting the match point. She enforced
a tie-breaker round into play and then went on to outplay the 15th seed Slovak in the decider, claiming her first victory over the far superior ranked player.
"She's a top player and is playing very well lately, so it's a good victory for me," Halep expressed in her post match reviews. "I played well and I really enjoyed the match."
Hantuchova won her fifth WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) championship title just two days ago, defeating Russia’s Maria Kirilenko in the final of the PTT Pattaya Open on Sunday night. She came to Doha as one of the hot favourites
for winning the title but her voyage at the Qatar Total Open ended in huge dismay for her fans all over the globe. She played very well in the contest against Halep but she appeared to lose her focus on crucial moments of the game, committing silly mistakes
and coughing unforced errors to let her opponent ahead.
Hantuchova nailed an all-important serve break in the 11th game of the final set to go 6-5 up and earned two match points at 40-15 while serving in the next game. Sloppy game play cost losing her serve and allowed Halep
to build momentum from there onwards. The Romanian clinched four straight points to lead 5-1 in the tie-breaker round and later concluded an emphatic victory by winning the ultimate decider at 7-6(4).
Halep will face the unseeded Czech competitor, Iveta Benesova, in the next encounter to fight for a place in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Total Open on Thursday. Benesova registered a taxing three-set victory over her fellow
compatriot, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, in the opening round of the tournament to book a clash with Halep.
Tags: