Victoria Duval, Nicole Gibbs through to the Girls’ Singles 2nd round – US Open 2011
American tennis player Victoria Duval showed great nerves as she came back from a set down to register an emphatic 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Ana Sofia Sanchez of Mexico on Monday. With her win the 15-year-old also made it to the
second round of 2011 US Open Girls’ singles here in the City of New York, United States.
Duval made a slow start to the match as she was unable to hit her shots from the middle of her racquet. But as the match progressed, she picked up the pace of her game and created all sorts of problems for her opponent. Unseeded
at the Women’s Tennis Association tournament, Duval has been giving decent performances on the tour since the season has started. However, her inability to do well in the later stages of the tournaments has always been criticised.
The young American will be looking to prove her critics wrong by making it all the way to the finals of US Open. However to do that, she must control her unforced errors and bring more consistency in serve department of her game.
Looking for a place in the second round of girl’s US Open tournament, Duval looked a bit out of sorts early in the opening set. Her unforced errors including few costly double faults forced her to defend her half of the court for
most part of the first set. Sanchez, who looked fresh and motivated, took control of the match by breaking the serve regularly. Leading 5-4 in the set, she converted a long rally in her favour to set up a couple of set points. Hitting a well placed forehand
winner down the line, the Mexican took 1-0 lead in the set score.
Duval raised her game to a very high level in the following set. All of sudden, execution came back to her game and she established complete control over the situation. Dropping only a game in the second set, she earned an impassable
lead. Holding onto her crucial serve games, she shifted the balance of the contest.
The final set also a similar trend as Duval continued to consolidate. Breaking her rival seven times in the match, she dented her confidence levels. Hitting a blistering serve ace, she completed her victory to book her place in
the second round.
In another match, Nicole Gibbs of United States secured a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 victory over Patricia Iveth ku Flores to make it to the second round.
Gibbs looked in commanding form in a match that lasted for only 58 minutes on court number 4 at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre. She will be looking to continue her impressive form in her upcoming matches as well.
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