Tamira Paszek outshines Brianti in round one of Internationaux de Strasbourg 2012: Tennis Special
Seeded eighth in the tournament, Tamira Paszek, battled past the Italian veteran, Alberta Brianti, in a see-saw three setter at the Internationaux de Strasbourg 2012 on Monday. She summed up a 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 victory against the world number 103 to book a
place in the round of 16 at this International-level tournament which is part of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Tour 2012 held in France.
The Austrian rising star stepped off steam in the second set but sought her momentum again after that, eventually pulling out the victory in two hours and six minutes. The contestants previously battled each other at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
five years ago and after earning this fame, Paszek maintained her winning record and extended her lead in the head-to-head series by 2-0 against the Italian.
"It's great to be through to the second round," the beaming Austrian commented in a courtside interview after the match. "I played really well in the first and third sets, but I've had a lot of injuries this year I'm still looking for that consistency and
some rhythm for the French Open next week."
Paszek made a shaky entry at this outdoor clay court event and suffered the first blow in the fourth game to trail at 1-3. However, she unveiled her true form after that and stroke out the following four-games successively before Brianti could hold on. The
Austrian slid her serve once again and clicked the opener by winning six games to four.
The frustrated 32-year-old on the other hand went wild in the second set. She blasted powerful forehands to reel off all six games in a row, ultimately pulling out the equaliser with a bagel. Brianti blocked the lone breakpoint she faced and capitalised
on three out of four break chances.
Ranked 55th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Paszek found her early ascendancy and rhythm in the final set which counts the most. She earned the critical break in the opening game and after cashing in another break chance in the fifth game, the Austrian
jumped to a 5-1 lead. Apart from squandering her serve in the eighth game, Paszek plucked her serve once again and clinched the decider with a 6-4 score line.
All in all, Paszek sought 15 break opportunities and availed four of them to earn the glory. She clobbered a lower first serve share of 63 per cent as opposed to the Italian’s 69 per cent but impressively marked 25 out of 42 points on it.
The 21-year-old is on drastic run of form this season. She fell to a five-match losing streak from the opening of the season. Despite snapping out from it at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, she lost her momentum again and crashed out from the opening
round from the following three events. However, the Austrian re-focused at this clay court event and made a winning start.
Paszek will next face the conqueror of the match between Sweden’s Johanna Larsson and the American qualifier, Lauren Davis.
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