Posts tagged Doubles
Late doubles win gives COS women’s tennis Big 8 victory
Mar 30th
Tied 4-4 going into the final match of their Big 8 Conference contest against visiting Cosumnes River, the College of the Sequoias women’s tennis team needed Stephanie Garcia and Lorissa Clem to come through.
The team’s No. 3 doubles found themselves in trouble early, as they lost the first set to Katie Seifert and Katy Piazza 0-6.
But the two rallied to get the 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory to help COS improve to 5-4 in the Big 8 and to 6-9 overall as they beat Cosumnes River 5-4.
Lexi Rico, Serena Yang and Clem each picked up wins in singles for the Giants, while Shiloe Gibson and Yang teamed to pick up the team’s other doubles victory.
The Giants wrap up regular season conference play at 1 p.m. Friday at Fresno City before playing in the conference tournament in Modesto beginning April 7.
Baseball
Porterville 8, Tulare Western 1: The Mustangs couldn’t manage any offense in an East Yosemite League loss to the Panthers.
Freshman Anthony Avila went 2-for-2 and Jared Schott had a double for Tulare Western (4-11, 3-2).
The Mustangs have a bye Thursday and will be at Cesar Chavez on Tuesday.
Dinuba 11, Coalinga 1: The Emperors used four pitchers and held the Horned Toads to one hit in winning the Central Sequoia League game.
Anthony Montalvo went 2-for-5, Andrew Lopez was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and David Rico had a double for Dinuba (7-5, 1-1).
The Emperors get right back to action as they play at Central Valley Christian today.
Lindsay 12, Orosi 0: Lindsay remained undefeated in the East Sequoia League with their shutout win over Orosi.
Adam Gamboa and Tyler Arroyo combined on a two-hitter for Lindsay (4-4, 2-0).
Also, for Lindsay, Joel Mosqueda was 3-for-5 with three runs scored, Mike Hernandez went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, Misael Villarreal went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and Arroyo was 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
Lindsay’s will next play a nonleague game at Farmersville on Thursday.
Strathmore 8, Woodlake 4: The Tigers were defeated by the Spartans in an East Sequoia League game.
Gabriel Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, and Guy Berry went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the losing effort for Woodlake.
From www.visaliatimesdelta.com
Men’s Tennis: Doubles teams lead Notre Dame to victory
Mar 9th
Solid play from the doubles teams led the No. 24 Irish to defeat the No. 4 Illini at the Eck Tennis Pavilion Tuesday.
The Irish opened the match strong with wins at both No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.
Irish senior Stephen Havens and junior Casey Watt took down Illinois senior Connor Roth and sophomore Stephen Hoh 8-2 at No. 2 doubles. Irish senior Tyler Davis and freshman Greg Andrews defeated sophomore Bruno Abdelnour and red-shirt freshman Brian Alden by the same score at No. 3 doubles.
Irish junior Niall Fitzgerald and sophomore Spencer Talmadge did not finish their match at No. 1 since the doubles point was already decided, but were leading seniors Abe Souza and Johnny Hamui 5-4 when play stopped.
“By beginning singles play with a 1-0 lead it means that if we split the singles we will win. This takes a lot of pressure off our guys to start singles,” Irish coach Bob Bayliss said.
Sophomore Blas Moros came out ahead of Roth 6-0, 6-1 at No. 6 singles to give the Irish a 2-0 lead.
Irish senior Dan Stahl defeated No. 65 Souza 6-4, 6-1 at No. 3 singles.
Illini junior Roy Kalmanovich put Illinois on the board when he defeated No. 124 Havens 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2 singles.
Hoh got Illinois’ second point by defeating Andrews at No. 4 singles in three sets, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Fitzgerald had a tough fight at No. 5 singles, winning the first set in a tiebreak 7-6, then dropping the second set 6-3. He rebounded to win the third 6-1, earning the point for Notre Dame.
No. 64 Watt also pulled out a three-set win at No. 1 over No. 62 Hamui. He won the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6, then dropped the second 6-4, before coming back to win the third 6-2.
“Winning at the top positions can be very difficult for anyone,” Bayliss said. “Match after match you are going to face the other teams’ best players. Given the strength of our schedule that means our guys are going to play many of the best college players in the country.”
This was Watt’s second straight No. 1 singles win after he defeated Joshua Graves of Northwestern on Sunday.
The Irish will travel to Boca Raton, Fla. to play at the U.S. National Junior Team, before hitting the road again to face Kentucky.
From www.ndsmcobserver.com
Tennis-Bryans sweep doubles to put US back in front of Chile
Mar 5th
The ever-reliable Bryan brothers, Mike and Bob, helped the United States regain control against Chile in their Davis Cup World Group first round tie on Saturday, beating Nicolas Massu and Jorge Aguilar 6-3 6-3 7-6.
Their doubles victory gave the Americans a 2-1 lead heading into Sunday’s reverse singles when world number eight Andy Roddick can complete victory by beating Paul Capdeville.
Captain Jim Courier, taking charge of his first tie, praised the world number one Bryans who took their Davis Cup record to 17-2 when playing together.
“These guys put us in a great spot today and we’ll be back at it with the hard hats on, just like we have all week,” Courier told the United States Tennis Association website.
“These guys have pretty much been a lock since the get-go. They proved it again today that they’re a big, big asset for the United States team.
“They come to play every day. They’re the toughest out in tennis by a long shot.”
Capdeville, ranked 165th in the world, surprisingly beat John Isner on Friday from two sets down but Roddick’s record of finishing off ties is a perfect one.
The world number eight is 11-0 when given a chance to clinch a tie.
Favourites Spain are waiting in the quarter-finals after taking an insurmountable 3-0 lead over Belgium on Saturday.
From uk.eurosport.yahoo.com
Doubles pair Jamie Murray and Colin Fleming struggle to Tunisia win in Davis Cup
Mar 5th
Doubles pair Jamie Murray and Colin Fleming struggle to Tunisia win in Davis Cup
By Sportsmail Reporter
Last updated at 5:16 PM on 5th March 2011
James Ward will have the chance to wrap up victory for Great Britain’s Davis Cup team against Tunisia after Jamie Murray and Colin Fleming ground out a less than impressive win in today’s doubles rubber at Bolton Arena.
The highly-ranked Scottish pair were expected to waste little time polishing off Malek Jaziri and Slim Hamza but in fact it took them two and a half hours to edge the match 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and give the hosts a 2-1 lead in the Europe/Africa Zone Group II tie.
After defeat for Jamie Baker and victory for Ward in the opening singles rubbers yesterday, it was essential Britain took a lead into the reverse singles tomorrow.
Fighting chance: But Team GB’s Jamie Murray and Colin Fleming struggled through against the Tunisian pair
Jaziri proved himself to be as dangerous as his ranking of 325 in the world suggested in beating Baker yesterday and his meeting with fellow number one player Ward tomorrow was not one the hosts wanted to go into having to win to stay in the tie.
That will not be the case but, after Murray and Fleming had romped through the opening set, today’s match was a topsy-turvy one that could well have gone the distance.
The British pair were made to pay for failing to take advantage of three break points in the third game of the second set as Jaziri and 18-year-old Hamza, who impressed on his debut, stepped up their level to break Fleming and level the match.
The third and fourth sets both featured multiple breaks of serve, with the British pair fighting back from 3-0 down in the final set and then saving more break points in the eighth game before Fleming eventually sealed victory with an ace.
Talking tactics: Murray and Fleming plan their attack in the fourth set
Captain Leon Smith said: ‘It was maybe a little bit trickier than we had expected. The young guy actually played really well, he started making a lot of balls and his backhand was pretty good.
‘And Jaziri showed again he’s a pretty talented player. But I thought the boys responded well in that fourth set and really started showing why they’re the established tour pair.’
Fleming, for whom today was a third successive Davis Cup victory after wins over Lithuania and Turkey with former partner Ken Skupski, pinpointed their failure to break early in the second set as a key moment.
He said: ‘We played really well in the first set and won it pretty easily and then we had the 0-40 game at the start of the second set.
‘I think because they held their serve there it gave them quite a lot of belief. But it was a good fun match and it’s just nice to get a win and make it 2-1.’
Job done: Tunisia’s Slim Hamza and Malek Jaziri congratulate the British pair
Murray, who was making his first appearance in the competition since 2008, added: ‘It wasn’t the best performance but even though things were getting a bit closer in the fourth set I didn’t ever really think we were going to lose.’
Smith is expecting a close match between Ward, who will find the pace somewhat different to his 6-0 6-2 6-0 thrashing of Sami Ghorbel yesterday, and Jaziri.
He said: ‘I think it’s going to be good tennis in the morning. It’s a good match between two guys at a pretty similar level. I think Jaziri’s more like a guy ranked 200 or 250. He hasn’t played that much tennis in the last year.
‘It was good to see Jaziri playing Baker because, while we’d had some footage of him playing before, it wasn’t against a great opponent.
‘We learned a lot more so at least we know what to expect now and we can start talking a little bit more strategically tonight about how James can go about that match tomorrow.’
Today’s result also means Britain have the cushion of being able to afford a defeat first up tomorrow knowing Baker would be a heavy favourite in the deciding rubber, where Tunisia could be tempted to play Hamza rather than Ghorbel.
From www.dailymail.co.uk
Doubles Play Lifts GW Over ECU Tennis
Feb 7th
Feb. 6, 2011
WOODBRIDGE, Va. — East Carolina and George Washington split six singles matches, but the Colonials (1-2) won two of three pro-sets to capture the doubles points and hand the Pirates (4-1) their first setback Sunday afternoon 4-3 at the Mount Vernon Athletic Complex.
George Washington captured the doubles point by posting victories at flights No. 2 and No. 3. Christopher Kushma and Alexander van Gils teamed up for an 8-3 triumph over Henrik Skalmerud and Stian Tvedt at the No. 2 position. The Colonials clinched the doubles points as Richard Blumenfeld and Viktor Svensson defeated Massimo Mannino and John Schmitt at the No. 3 slot, 8-6. The ECU No. 1 doubles team of Jaroslav Horvath and Joran Vliegen recorded an 8-5 win over Ugur Atalay and Erik Hannah.
In singles play, ECU picked up victories at the No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 slots as Mannino rolled past Yan Levinski (6-2, 6-2), Vliegen disposed of Kushma (6-2, 6-3) and Schmitt defeated Hannah (7-6, 4-6, 1-0).
The Colonials used a 3-6 6-2, 6-1 win by Atalay over Horvath at No. 1 to clinch the match after van Gils defeated Skalmerud (6-2, 6-3) at No. 3 and Svensson rallied past Mario Martinez (5-7, 6-2, 6-3) at the No. 6 position.
East Carolina will return to action Friday, Feb. 11 when it travels to Norfolk, Va. to face Old Dominion in a non-conference meeting beginning at 2 p.m.
GEORGE WASHINGTON 4, EAST CAROLINA 3
Singles Results
No. 1 – Ugur Atalay (GW) def. Jaroslav Horvath (ECU) 3-6 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 – Massimo Mannino (ECU) def. Yan Levinski (GW) 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 – Alexander van Gils (GW) def. Henrik Skalmerud (ECU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 – Joran Vliegen (ECU) def. Christopher Kushma (GW) 6-2 6-3
No. 5 – John Schmitt (ECU) def. Erik Hannah (GW) 7-6 (5), 4-6, 1-0
No. 6 – Viktor Svensson (GW) def. Mario Martinez (ECU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
Doubles Results
No. 1 – Horvath/Vliegen (ECU) def. Atalay/Hannah (GW) 8-5
No. 2 – Kushma / van Gils (GW) def. Skalmerud/Tvedt (ECU) 8-3
No. 3 – Blumenfeld/Svensson (GW) def. Mannino/Schmitt (ECU) 8-6
From www.ecupirates.com
Serbian captain blasts line judges after doubles defeat
Dec 5th
Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic poured scorn on the line judges and called them “unpatriotic” after France won the doubles on Saturday to take a 2-1 lead in the Davis Cup final.
“We are not asking them to be thieves and give us anything, but some of them were absolutely awful today and they made several bad calls at key moments in the match,” Obradovic told a news conference.
“They were like a dark force out there and their lack of patriotism was astounding. If they feel anything for their country they ought to wait for a customary second at close calls to make the right decision,” he said. “We know them very well and we are completely aware that they are trying to build a career by siding to the [International Tennis Federation]. We won’t stand in their way, but they must remember that they are only here because Serbian tennis has become a force.”
Serbia’s duo of Viktor Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic took a two-set lead, but eventually succumbed to France’s Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.
“At times we felt like the line judges were French and we were playing in Paris,” Troicki said.
The enthralling encounter was played in a raucous atmosphere that threatened to boil over in the closing stages of the second set.
With Serbia a set up and leading 6-5 in the second, several hundred French fans screamed for a foot fault on Troicki’s serve and Serbian supporters responded with loud jeers every time the French duo hit the ball after the restart.
Following protestations to the umpire by both sides, Serbia’s No. 2 singles player, Janko Tipsarevic, warned the home crowd that Serbia could be punished with a point or game deduction if the fans carried on.
With the match tied at two sets apiece, some Serbian fans left the Belgrade Arena, and Obradovic lambasted those who “appeared to have bigger priorities at such a crucial time.”
“The fans have to understand that these lads are playing their hearts out for their country, they have sacrificed so much to get Serbia into the Davis Cup final,” he said
Tennis-France edge ahead after thrilling doubles battle
Dec 4th
* French pair hit back from two sets down
* Serb captain Obradovic angry at officials
* France lead 2-1 ahead of reverse singles (adds quotes, details)
France edged towards a 10th Davis Cup title when Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra staged a remarkable fightback to beat Serbia’s Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki in a stormy five-set cliffhanger on Saturday.
Emotions boiled over inside the jam-packed venue as the durable French duo clawed back a two-set deficit to win 3-6 6-7 6-4 7-5 6-4 and sparked wild celebrations among their 1,000-strong army of blue-clad fans in a sell-out crowd.
The victory put France 2-1 ahead in the tie with Sunday’s reverse singles matches to come at the Belgrade Arena.
Spanish umpire Enric Molina struggled to keep order after one flashpoint and Serbia’s watching singles player Janko Tipsarevic grabbed a microphone and pleaded with home fans to behave, although French followers were to blame for a bizarre incident that sparked angry scenes in the second set.
To add further fuel to the fire, Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic later complained that the line judges, all of whom were Serbian, had favoured the French team.
“They were like a dark force out there and their lack of patriotism was astonishing,” the bearded Obradovic told reporters after an incident-packed match.
“If they feel anything for their country they should wait for a customary second at close calls to make the right decision.”
UNLIKELY VICTORY
On a day of raw sporting drama, the experienced French duo seized their chances to clinch an unlikely victory after 4-1/2 hours when Llodra struck a winning volley.
As the players embraced they were saluted by a deafening rendition of La Marseillaise by the vastly outnumbered French fans in the near 17,000 crowd who unfurled a huge tricolour.
While their joy could still prove premature, France are now in the driving seat and Gael Monfils can wreck Serbia’s dream of winning the trophy for the first time if he beats home favourite Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s first reverse singles.
“It was a typical Davis Cup match with that unbelievable atmosphere,” France captain Guy Forget told reporters. “I knew they could come back, but I knew it was going to be very, very difficult. At times, we saw unbelievable tennis.”
Monfils and Djokovic won their singles matches on Friday meaning the stakes were raised considerably for a doubles rubber that unfolded into a Davis Cup epic.
Zimonjic, playing in his 37th tie, and Troicki appeared to be close to victory in the heart of the fourth set when they had two break points for a 5-3 lead on the Clement serve.
Those chances went begging, however, and they were punished at 5-5 when an inspired Clement landed a stunning topspin lob on the baseline to break the Troicki serve before Clement squared the match with a thundering smash.
Visibly deflated, the Serbs immediately lost serve at the start of the fifth and, although they had opportunities to turn the tide back in their favour, Clement and Llodra held firm.
CONTROVERSIAL MOMENT
While the tennis was of a high quality, it was the controversial moment at the end of the second set that lit the blue touchpaper.
French fans let out a collective “oooh” to signify a Troicki foot fault as the Serb hit a second serve at 6-5.
After losing the point he and Zimonjic stormed to the chair to tell Molina the French fans had put them off.
Predictably, on the next point the Serbian fans followed suit, shouting out as the French players hit the ball, although it had a negative effect as Troicki promptly dropped serve.
A Serb fan then sounded a horn as Llodra served in the first point of the tiebreak and this time Molina ordered the point to be re-played, further inflaming the situation which was later played down by both teams.
“I don’t think one point, one person screaming on one point, can make the difference for a match like we played for more than four hours,” Clement said.
“The key was the spirit we had on the court.”
Tennis-Djokovic hints at doubles switch in Davis Cup final
Dec 3rd
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has not ruled out playing doubles in the Davis Cup final after levelling the tie 1-1 with France on Friday.
Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic has paired Nenad Zimonjic with Viktor Troicki in Saturday’s doubles which has taken on enormous importance after the two sides split the singles.
However, Obradovic is allowed to change his selections up to an hour before the start and could yet team world number three Djokovic with doubles specialist Zimonjic.
“Well, it’s open,” Djokovic told reporters after a 6-3 6-1 7-5 defeat of Gilles Simon pulled Serbia level with the nine-times champions after Janko Tipsarevic was crushed 6-1 7-6 6-0 by Gael Monfils in the opening singles.
“We’ll discuss it tonight and find the best possible solution and see what we’re going to do about that.
“Definitely we need to try to get a win tomorrow. It’s going to be very important for us to get a 2-1 lead going into the last two matches,” added Djokovic.
He looked razor sharp against Simon, clinching victory in little more than two hours, and will also play the first reverse singles against Monfils on Sunday.
Obradovic also hinted he could change his doubles lineup as Serbia attempt to win the trophy for the first time.
“I want to congratulate Novak,” he said. “He played really good. Three very quick sets for Davis Cup. He saved a lot of energy for maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after tomorrow.”
Tennis-Doubles vision puts Zimonjic in sight of glory
Nov 30th
Around the same time as notching his career-best singles victory with a win over Grand Slam great Andre Agassi, Nenad Zimonjic made the seemingly incongrous decision to switch his tennis focus to doubles.
Now, six years later, the 34-year-old Serb is reaping handsome dividends from that inspired move and by Sunday he could become a national sporting hero.
Last week he won the ATP World Tour Finals with partner Daniel Nestor for the second time, bringing down the curtain on a partnership with the Canadian which also earned them two Wimbledons and one French Open title.
This week, however, all his personal achievements will be put to one side when he plays for Serbia in the Balkan country’s first Davis Cup final, against France in Belgrade.
“It’s a completely different achievement,” Zimonjic, who has won 23 of his 30 doubles rubbers since making his debut in the competition for the former Yugoslavia against Benin in 1996, told Reuters.
“But it’s the biggest achievement that Serbia has as a country in tennis. I’m looking forward to… playing the biggest final in our tennis history.
“It would mean everything to the players, to the Federation, to people there, to say we are world champions. Maybe not all of them knew what is Davis Cup. Now I believe they know that it’s like a world championships in tennis.”
PLODDING LOWER LEVELS
Zimonjic, who will most likely partner Janko Tipsarevic or Viktor Tricki in Saturday’s doubles, plodded the lower levels of the men’s Tour after turning pro in 1995, hardly rising above 200 in the rankings.
By the time he beat Agassi in 2004 he had already made the decision to concentrate on the doubles arts.
“It wasn’t so much a choice,” he said ruefully.
“I didn’t have sponsors. I didn’t have chances to hire a coach that could travel with me. I never had a chance to concentrate on it for six, seven months.
“The money I was making in doubles was being re-invested in myself so that I could keep playing the singles circuit.”
However, what was merely a means to an end suddenly offered Zimonjic the chance to shake off the journeyman tag and establish himself as one of the world’s best doubles players.
With a variety of partners he began collecting doubles titles and in 2005 he became a grand slam champion when partnering Karerina Srebotnik to the Wimbledon mixed crown.
In 2008 he teamed up for the first time with Nestor, winning Wimbledon and finishing the year as the world’s No.1 duo. Last year they won nine titles and seven more followed this year, including the French Open.
Like many players from Serbia, Zimonjic’s route to fame and fortune was a tough one with crumbling sports facilities and the region being torn apart by war.
DRAINED SWIMMING POOL
Training took place in a drained swimming pool in Belgrade — the same makeshift arena that provided an improvised court for former women’s world No.1 Ana Ivanovic.
“That was actually a good place to practice,” he recalled. “There were no indoor courts and the swimming pool was ideal. It was actually quite luxurious compared to what I’d been through.
“I was playing tennis in the worst time for the country. The worst time for athletes. We had embargo sanctions. We could not compete as juniors. I had to fly out of Budapest, which is six hours by mini-van.
“Every time I had to leave the country, six hours to Budapest, then fly somewhere. It was really rough and difficult to get visas to travel. Then there was the army and the passports, it was difficult to be a tennis professional.”
Out of adversity, however, Serbia has become a tennis powerhouse with world number three Novak Djokovic leading the team this week against France.
France may have a depth rivalled only by Spain and facilities to envy, but Zimonjic believes Serbian team spirit could hold the key.
“There is no comparison with us and France, they are nine times Davis Cup champions,” he said. “They have eight or nine players that can play any day in the Davis Cup. But we are strong. We are good friends, all four of us, off the court, which helps a lot in situations like this coming up.”
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Asian Games tennis: Sania in singles, mixed doubles quarters
Nov 19th
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Print | Asian Games tennis: Sania in singles, mixed doubles quarters 2010-11-19 19:30:00
Guangzhou, Nov 19 (IANS) India’s Sania Mirza cruised into the women’s tennis singles and mixed doubles quarterfinals at the Asian Games here Friday.
Sania scored a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 victory over sixth-seeded Chinese Shuai Zhang and later with Vishnu Vardhan beat China’s Shengnan Sun and Bai Yan 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(10). The sixth-seeded Indian pair next play Chinese Taipei’s fourth-seeded Chia Jung Chuang and Chu-Huan Yi.
In the women’s singles, the 166th-ranked Sania took one hour and 17 minutes to beat Shuai, who had defeated her at the Guangzhou Open here September. Sania, a silver medallist at the 2006 Doha Games, now plays 33-year-old Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn, who is seeded second.
In the men’s singles, Somdev Devvarman and Karan Rastogi stormed into the third round with thumping victories. It took a mere 37 minutes for second-seeded Somdev to blaze into the third round with a 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Jabor Mohammed Al Mutawa of Qatar. He next plays 16th-seeded Vaja Uzakov of Uzbekistan.
Rastogi, seeded seventh, thrashed Turkmenistan’s Myalikkuli Mamedkuliyev 6-0, 6-0 and will take on 10th-seeded Ti Chen of Chinese Taipei.
The sixth-seeded pair of Somdev and Sanam Singh then combined to beat Johnny Arcilla and Ruben Jr. Gonzales of Philippines 6-4, 6-2. The Indians will face China’s Bai Yan and Zhang Ze in the quarterfinal.
In another men’s doubles second round match, Rastogi and Vardhan lost to South Korea’s Young Jun Kim and Jae Min Seol 6-1, 3-6, 0-1 (3).
In the women’s doubles, fifth-seeded Chinese Shengnan and Shuai defeated India’s Tara Iyer and Nirupama Sanjeev 6-4, 7-5.
India’s Sanam Singh and Rushmi Chakravarthi lost to Japanese Hiroki Kondo and Yurika Sema 4-6, 6-3, 1-0(3) in the second round.
In the women’s singles encounter, Sania and Shuai traded plenty of breaks, but the Indian was a notch better in making less errors and also holding her service games.
Sania broke the Chinese early in the match for a 3-1 lead. She then saved two break points in the seventh. Sania put pressure on Shuai’s serve and earned a set point, hitting a stinging backhand deep and low. The Chinese hung on, but Sania showed a streak of aggressive tennis to earn another set point and this time closing it out as Shuai’s backhand hit the net.
Shuai came back strongly in the second set, breaking Sania, once ranked 27th in the world, in the first game. Sania pulled one off immediately to draw level.
Sania stretched Shuai to the corners with her deep groundstrokes and went up 40-0 on Shuai’s serve, eventually breaking the Chinese in the sixth game to lead 4-2.
Shuai showed signs of resurgence as she played her best tennis in the next game. Down 0-40, she reeled off four points in a row to stand on the verge of breaking back. Sania managed to hold on and had a match point when Shuai committed a double fault in the next game. Sania finished the match with a forehand winner.
All About: Asia,China
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