Ulrikke Eikeri shocks Conny Perrin in the opening round – Copa Providencia BCI 2011
Norwegian qualifier Ulrikke Eikeri stunned the third seed, Swiss Conny Perrin with a bagel at the Copa Providencia BCI 2011, a professional tennis tournament held on the clay courts in Santiago, Chile on Tuesday. She rarely sweated
to register a 6-0, 6-4 victory over the Swiss to secure a second round at this ITF Women’s Circuit event.
World number 440 Eikeri upset the seed, ranked 153 spots below her in the Sony Ericsson WTA Premier Rankings, through exquisite forehands and backhand slices. She quickly jolted down a straight setter success and closed down gaps
to grab her maiden career title.
The Norwegian underdog blasted powerful groundstrokes and winners to go on a six games shooting spree and earned a bagel. She blocked all five breakpoints came across and cashed in three breakpoint opportunities to her advantage
to clinch easily.
The qualifier kept momentum rolling into the final set and held the opening serve in the second with a 40 – love score. Eikeri held remaining serves and capitalised on one breakpoint chance to her advantage in the last game, sealing
the victory by winning six games to four. She again fended off all breakpoints faced and converted one out of four breakpoint opportunities to her advantage.
Eikeri has had a poor start of the season but she raised her form last month at the Rosario ITF event where cracked into the top eight for the first time (lost to top seeded American Julia Cohen). She carried her winning ways in
the next month and made a last four showing at the Buenos Aires ITF event. The Norwegian then confidently marched into this event and after crushing Chilean Macarena Olivares Lopez and Gabriela Ce with bagels, she qualified for the main draw.
Next up for the rising star Norwegian is the Brazilian qualifier Paula Cristina Goncalves who overwhelmed Peruvian qualifier Patricia Ku Flores in a see-saw three setter match to set-up this meeting.
A local starlet Andrea Koch-Benvenuto will be joining the Norwegian in the second round.
Fourth seed Benvenuto crippled her wild card compatriot, Camila Silva in straight sets on their first meeting. She exchanged an early break in the opening set and after converting another breakpoint chance to her advantage in the
ending game, the Chilean pocketed the opener with a 7-5 win.
Benvenuto raised the level of her game in the second set as she unleashed her true colours to reel off first five games in a row. The seeded Chilean then held her serve in the seventh game and clinched a breadstick.
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