Sorana Cirstea ousts Alexandra Dulgheru to sail into the third round – French Open 2011
Sorana Cirstea of Romania upset compatriot and 27th seed Alexandra Dulgheru 6-2, 7-5 on Thursday to book a third round berth at the 2011 French Open in Paris. Not many would have expected the world number 99 player to
score such an easy win over much higher ranked player but Cirstea had other ideas as she proved that she belongs to this arena.
Cirstea made a very confident start to the match and made the crucial serve break in the opening set with a big forehand winner down the line. Although her first serve was only a mere 45 percent in the set, she was able to take
18 out of 31 points on her serve. Dulgheru on the other hand struggled to time the ball and committed a whopping 18 unforced errors in the set. With three breaks of serve in the set, Cirstea was able to take the set score lead 1-0.
A lot more competitive tennis was witnessed in the second as both players traded breaks of serve as the match entered a very exciting phase. Dulgheru had the advantage with a 4-2 lead in the set, But Cirstea showed remarkable fighting
spirit and determination as she broke back twice to re-establish herself in the match. She then broke the serve for the third time in the set to seal victory in a match that lasted for about one hour and 44 minutes.
With an impressive 58 per cent first serve conversion, Cirstea was able to put herself in the driving seat in the match. She returned Dulgheru’s serve with confidence and aggressiveness and took control of long rallies. In contrast
Dulgheru looked a bit out of sorts and committed 33 unforced errors in the match which of course played a vital part in deciding the outcome of the game.
The Romanian (Cirstea) has been struggling to find her peak form since the start of this season. At the 2011 Australian Open she fell in the second round to Israeli Shahar Peer. She then made it to the second round of Mexican Open.
BNP Paribas Open, Sony Ericsson Open and Marbella also ended in a disappointment for her.
Looking at her record her at the French Open, the Romanian made history when she reached the fourth round in 2009. However, in her last appearance here at Roland Garros she was thrashed out in the first round. She will be hoping
to put up a solid performance this year here in Paris by reaching the final stages of the tournament but consistency is going to be the key in a field full of fierce competitors. Her next round match-up will be against Chinese Li Na.
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