Round one is always going to donate a match which fails to capture the crowd, and for the most part the Francesca Schiavone serving appeared to be the smallest of appetisers to the main course of Rafa Nadal to come. The 2010 French Open champion from the outset had to many weapons in her arsenal for Spanish girl Laura Pous-Tio. 3-0 in the blink of an eye, and the shot making from the Italian player as always was a delight to watch. Possibly the most intelligent use of a set of skills is that employed by Schiavone. Structuring the points with intricate precision, and moving to position with all the guile garnered through years on the tour.
The serve was on the money in the first set, and the one handed backhand showed glimpses of its beauty and effectiveness. Laura simply overwhelmed by the presence of her opponent, made too many mistakes, and if chances arose, she could not grasp them - all this resulted in a set decided 6-1, and Francesca did not allow any niceties in the second and what would be final set.
When all the interest in this match had been redirected to how Bernard Tomic had come back against Verdasco on Rod Laver Arena, suddenly Laura's game clicked. To some degree Schiavone was guilty of playing her into the set by not pressing the advantage at 3-0 and 2 breaks. Her serve fell away enough for the Spanish player to confidently strike winners and move Francesca to parts of the court that she did not intend visiting today. Serving at 3-2, there existed even more chances to even up the set, but experience won out and Francesca held for 4-2.
The match standard improved with some of the best tennis served up in the latter stages but the horse had already bolted, and Schiavone was aboard and waving the whip in delight as they passed the post first 6-1 6-3.
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