Victoria Kan/ Demi Schuurs defeat Ellen Allgurin/ Barbara Haas in Girls’ Doubles – French Open 2011
The Swede-Austrian duo of Ellen Allgurin and Barbara Haas suffered a humiliating loss 1-6, 3-6 in the first round of the 2011 French Open Girl’s doubles and saw the exit door on what was a gloomy Monday yesterday.
Standing in the way of Allgurin and Haas was the Swede-Austrian pair of Victoria Kan and Demi Schuurs, who showed no mercy and pushed their opponents to limit. Their 60 minutes on court were the most productive against Allgurin
and Haas, making them look like some kind of ill-equipped amateurs.
Allgurin and Haas were unable to find their footing in the opening set, and even when they were a bit settled down in the second, they could not threaten their opponent’s serve. Allgurin and Haas were given life however, when their
opponents serving at 3-2, played poorly and allowed them to tie the score at 3-all. But the Russian-Dutch duo continued to play consistently and won three games in a row and Swede-Austrian pair’s ill-timed unforced errors at the critical moments proved their
undoing.
Kan and Schuurs started fast against their opponents, serving bombs and testing their patience as they swept to a one-sided first set. Kan and Schuurs hit the ball really hard and made a number of flashy volleys and in no time,
they had the Swede-Austrian pair under their feet.
It was a rocky display of tennis by the Russian-Dutch duo in the first set. Kan and Schuurs hit 57 percent of first serve and won 67 percent of points on them. By contrast, their opponents hammered an impressive first serve percentage
of 78 percent but won a meagre percentage of 57 percent behind them and lost the first set.
The pattern continued, with Allgurin and Barbara occasionally showing their number one style, but they just did not have enough going for them to resist the speed and precision of their opponents. Kan and Schuurs faced a difficult
moment serving at 3-2 in the second set as one of their opponent’s had just rifled a backhand winner down the line. But they kept playing persistently, not going for much, but analyzing the decision making of Allgurin and Haas. They did not squander their
chances and just at the right moment blew away the Swede-Austrian pair with a 6-3 score.
The Russian-Dutch duo now move on ahead to face the top seeded pair of Natalija Kostic and Danka Kovinic in the second round of the tournament. Kan and Schuurs are one of the best volleyers on tour and could be ultra-aggressive
for their next opponents. This is one of their best abilities to keep their opponents off balance and if the pressure does not overwhelm them, this could be one of the best matches of the tournament.
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