Virginie Razzano downs Martinez Sanchez to reach round two – Internationaux de Strasbourg 2012
Local wildcard entrant, Virginie Razzano, bounced back to conquer the Spanish lucky loser, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, in a three set thriller at the Internationaux de Strasbourg 2012 on Tuesday. She summed up a 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 success against the 29-year-old
Spaniard to secure a place in the round of 16 at this clay court event which is part of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Tour 2012 held in France.
The crowd favourite, Razzano barely did anything in the opening set and subsequently suffered the opener with a breadstick. However, she made a stunning reply and equalised the set scores. In the final set, the French kept her momentum and not only avenged
her loss at the Fed Cup last season but also took lead in the head-to-head series by 2-1 against Martinez Sanchez.
The left-handed Spaniard, who was the top seed in the qualifying competition here, displayed her top tennis in the opening set. After the French held her serve in the opening game, Martinez Sanchez went on a six-game rampage and pocketed the opener with
a breadstick.
115th ranked Razzano bounced back in the following set and earned the critical break in the opening game to take the upper hand. She lost her serve in the very next game but put her nose ahead once again after breaking the Spaniard’s serve for
the second time. Despite levelling the scores in the fourth game, the French unleashed her true colours and wiped out the last four games successively. She blocked one out of three breakpoints she faced but capitalised on four out of seven break chances to
seal the equaliser by winning six games to two.
The local veteran thundered into the final set and earned the critical break in the opening game to jump to a 2-0 lead. Regardless of levelling the scores at 2-2, Razzano stayed firm and got the breakthrough in the 11th game. She converted two
out of six break opportunities to her advantage, eventually registering a 7-5 success.
Overall, the French ruled throughout the two hours and 15 minutes. She clobbered a better first serve share of 58 per cent as compared to her rival’s 54 per cent and amazingly marked 27 out of 48 points on it.
Next up for Razzano is the Japanese contender, Ayumi Morita, who stunned the top Kiwi, Marina Erakovic, with a breadstick to set up this battle. The French needs to play her original game to overpower anyone and reach far in this tournament.
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