Majoli Foiled On New Year's Eve
by Priya Prasad
New Year's Eve would prove to be a day of disappointment for several
players as matches ran up to past 10 in the evening. Daniela
Hantuchova had few problems taking on Bianka Lamade in the first
match of the day, winning 6-1 7-5 against the lanky German. Meghann
Shaughnessy had an even easier time against the clay-court stylings of
Nuria Llagostera-Vives, winning 6-2 6-2 over the qualifier.
Klara Koukalova continued to impress, fighting hard in the first set
and carrying her momentum into the second set only to run out of
steam in the third against the Swiss Patty Schnyder. The Czech plays
an aggressive game despite being just over 5'5".
Former NCAA champion Lilia Osterloh failed to make any impression on
local favourite Nicole Pratt, whose scrapping net game totally stumped
her opponent. Nicole moves into the second round against the winner
of the final match of the day between Rita Grande and qualifier Anca
Barna.
Iva Majoli and Joanette Kruger followed up on court, resulting in a
predictably long, flashes-of-brillience in a sea of errors sort of
match. The talented but complacent Croat took the first set 6-4
before losing the second and third sets with absolutely shocking
tennis, and trudged off court wondering when it will be when she
makes it back to the top 10 as she believes she is both capable and
deserving of. As a player once said about the former Roland Garros
champion and foiler of Martina Hingis' Grand Slam year, "she definitely
has the talent to be in the top 10, but you can't come back from just
inside the top 200 by playing 5 matches a year." The handful of
matches certainly has increased in number, but one has to wonder
about her work ethic during off-court hours.
Ai Sugiyama, a familiar sight on court at the Gold Coast tournament,
had a large share of support in her match against Marlene Weingartner,
but had trouble getting her serve under control in the second set,
eventually winning 6-0 4-6 6-2 against the hard-hitting German. Next
up for her will be Anastasia Myskina, another baseline basher, who
will be looking to make good on her first appearance in the
season-opening events.
Eager not to miss her match against qualifier Anca Barna, Rita Grande
had been ready to play since much earlier in the day, and was glad to
be on court at 8pm. Her good friend and doubles partner Tathiana
Garbin had lost to the German in the first qualifying round, and the
Italian posse were all on hand to witness "the revenge" before
heading out for New Year's Eve in Surfers Paradise. Unfortunately,
her play lacked any bite to it whatsoever, and nearly every shot in
the first set was completely predictable: low slices off the backhand and high
topspins off the forehand. Anca Barna had little trouble telling
where the balls were heading, and aided by some errors off the
Italian's racquet, took the first set 6-3.
The second set was a complete turnaround, with Rita actually hitting
the ball with some velocity instead of depending on errors from her
opponent. Adding the errors coming from the German into the equation,
the second set went 6-2 to the Italian. The third set was a complete
wipeout, though, and Rita couldn't keep the ball in play to save her
life (or the match, rather). Revenge would not be on the menu after
all, and Anca Barna moved into the second round to set up a meeting
with a player with a very different game, Nicole Pratt.
Singles Round 1:
- Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d Bianka Lamade (GER) 61 75
- 4-Meghann Shaughnessy (USA) d Q-Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) 62 62
- Patty Schnyder (SUI) d Q-Klara Koukalova (CZE) 64 36 62
- Nicole Pratt (AUS) d Lilia Osterloh (USA) 62 61
- Joannette Kruger (RSA) d Iva Majoli (CRO) 46 64 63
- 8-Ai Sugiyama (JPN) d Marlene Weingärtner (GER) 60 46 62
- Q-Anca Barna (GER) d 6-Rita Grande (ITA) 63 16 62
Doubles Round 1:
- Schlukebir/Tatarkova (USA/UKR) d WC-Dominikovic/Stosur (AUS/AUS) 36 76(7) 63
- Farina Elia/Petrova (ITA/RUS) d De Villiers/Selyutina (RSA/KAZ) 76(6) 76(1)
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Last updated 26 September 2015
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