After an early loss at the Australian Open in January, Andrea Petkovic got her act together today as she defeated in straight sets the unpredictable Camila Giorgi in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Petkovic plays too well in the first set
The German was off to a very good start, holding her serve to love in the opening game. She did not falter in the second game as she broke the serve of Giorgi to take a 2-0 lead. On one hand, Petkovic was hitting winners without making too many unforced errors and on the other hand, the Italian could just not get in the fight, making huge mistakes all set long. After losing the four first games of the contest, Giorgi got on the scoreboard by breaking her opponent with a massive return winner. But in the end, it was just not enough as Petkovic responded very quickly by breaking Giorgi one last time to take the first set 6-2.
Both players lift their level but Petkovic the more solid of the two
Camila Giorgi held her serve for the first time of the match in the second game of the second set to level up the match at 1-1. But from that moment, Petkovic increased her level and never let the Italian win a game again. Even though Giorgi committed less unforced errors than in the first set, she could not find the answers to thwart the tennis of the German. She also served better (76% of first serves compared to 50% in the first set) but Petkovic also returned better and played even more aggressively than in the first set, which allowed her to easily wrap up the win. Quite simply, it was just not a good day at the office for Giorgi.
A last look at the statistics of the match
Giorgi served her usual amount of five double faults while Petkovic hit the only ace of the contest. Even though the Italian hit one more winner than Petkovic (11 against 10), she also committed twice as many unforced errors than her opponent, which eventually cost her the match. It was thus a one-sided affair today and Petkovic can be thrilled with the way she played.
In the second round, Petkovic will face either the in-form Belinda Bencic or former world number one Jelena Jankovic.
