Eighteen-year-old American Christina McHale caused an upset today when she beat number two seed, Monica Niculescu to move into the second round of qualifying at the Brisbane International.
The match saw both players working hard for their points, in the end, however, McHale took it out 6-2 6-2.
“I played pretty solid,” said McHale. “We had long points, a couple of points could have gone either way. Overall, I was happy with my performance.”
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McHale will meet Canadian Rebecca Marino tomorrow for a spot in the third round of qualifying.
Sorana Cirstea is also into the second round of qualifying after she outplayed Chanelle Scheepers in a drawn out match that lasted 2 hours and 5 minutes.
Cirstea looked to have everything under control taking out the first set 6-3, however, Scheepers crept back in during the second set, taking it out 6-4.
The last set saw both women working for every point and both requesting to speak to their coaches on several occasions as their games rose and fell. But it was Cirstea who eventually beat Scheepers 6-4.
“It’s the first match and it’s really exciting. I thought it was a good match. I fought ‘til the end; it was a good match and I am happy,” Cirstea said.
Cirstea is due to meet Lucie Hradecka, who was too good for Petra Martic, tomorrow.
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The news wasn’t so good for Australian wildcard Jessica Moore who fell to seventh seed Russian Ksenia Pervak in straight sets, 6-3 6-0.
“In the beginning it was tough to play because she’s not a typical girl player – she has a lot of spin – and that was a little bit difficult for me plus it was a little bit windy, but then I got used to it and started to play really good,” Pervak said.
Pervak will face Masa Zec Peskiric in the second round of qualifying tomorrow, which begins at 10:00 am (gates open at 9:30 am).
Fans can come and watch qualifying for free at the Queensland Tennis Centre or head down to the Cultural Forecourt (next to the Southbank Wheel of Brisbane), Southbank, to watch the official draw ceremony, which will be attended by world No.16 Mardy Fish and No.21 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.