Sloane Stephens upsets Su-Wei Hsieh to enter main draw – Internazionali BNL D’Italia 2012
Seeded 14th in the qualifying competition of this tournament, Sloane Stephens of America got the better of the Taiwanese star, Su-Wei Hsieh, in straight sets at the Internazionali BNL D’Italia 2012 on Sunday. She nudged up a 6-2, 6-4 victory against
the 26-year-old to charge into the main draw at Foro Italico in Rome.
The American teenager displayed her best tennis to triumph over Hsieh in their first encounter. She outshined her rival in every department of tennis and eventually booked a spot in the opening round at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier five
event.
Stephens thundered into this WTA event and drew the first blood in the opening game to take the initial lead. Despite losing her serve in the very next game, the American capitalised on another break chance in the third game and jumped to a 3-1 lead. She
then held remaining serves with poise and broke her opponent’s serve again in the seventh game to seal the opener with a 6-2 win.
Ranked 92nd in the WTA Premier Rankings, Stephens lost her track towards the following set and suffered the first blow in the third game to fall at 0-3. However, she made a fitting reply after that and went on a five-game tear before the Taiwanese
could hold on. The American then held her serve once more and clicked the set with a 6-4 score line.
All in all, Stephens committed fewer double faults and clobbered a higher first serve share of 79 per cent as compared to the rival’s 58 per cent. She also impressively clicked 32 out of 46 points on it and bagged the match with 66 points.
Next up for Stephens is her fellow qualifier, Anna Chakvetadze, in the opening round.
The Russian starlet, Chakvetadze, rallied past the qualifying 12th seed, Varvara Lepchenko, in three sets to join Stephens in the main draw. She summed up a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory against her rival to progress at this red clay court event. The
25-year-old Russian lost her serve five times but cashed in seven out of 21 break opportunities to earn the glory.
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