30th seed Timea Bacsinszky had a successful start to her French Open campaign as she successfully got underway in Paris after a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 victory against Sara Sorribes Tormo in the first round, triumphing after 1 hour and 22 minutes.
Bacsinszky overcomes slow start
Bacsinszky showed some nerves early on in the match, starting with a backhand unforced error on the first point which was then followed by a double fault to gift Sorribes Tormo an early 0-30 lead in her opening return game. Nevertheless, the Swiss managed to rebound back to clinch the nervy service game to get her on board.
Sorribes Tormo, despite the positive start, was very inconsistent on her serve and sent in a massive number of three double faults in a single game, causing her to get broken in her opening service game to gift Bacsinszky the early 2-0 lead. Dictating play thus far, Bacsinszky took full advantage of Sorribes Tormo’s weaknesses and powered herself to consolidate the break, leading by a formidable three games.
Her inability to convert the break points in the first game only seemed to have taken a toll on her confidence as the Spaniard’s fourth double fault only paved the way for her to get broken once more, with the former Top 10 player continuing to cruise through the match. Some inconsistent backhands from Bacsinszky finally saw Sorribes Tormo get on the scoreboard after breaking straight back, but still trailed by a three-game deficit.
The comeback looked to be impossible after Bacsinszky regained her double break advantage, immediately regaining her composure to place herself just one game away from winning the first set. Despite facing some troubles while trying to serve out the set, the Swiss eventually fended off the tough challenge of Sorribes Tormo and converted her third set point to seal the first set 6-1 after just 30 minutes.
Bacsinszky seals the victory
Carrying the momentum over from the first set, Bacsinszky saved two game points and relied on two forehand winners to get to break point, which Sorribes Tormo lost after hitting yet another double fault. Bacsinszky faced some tough resistance when trying to consolidate the break as she had to fend off two break points in the process, with a mild rain delay interrupting play in the midst of the game.
The Spaniard then found a lifeline as she comfortably held her serve for the first time in the match, closing the deficit to just one game. Prevailing in a marathon game, it was a galore of unforced errors as Bacsinszky took advantage of the two double faults served by Sorribes Tormo and took a huge 4-1 lead in the second set.
Despite so, her efforts were wasted as the Spaniard started to look comfortable on the Paris clay courts, breaking straight back to leave the deficit to just two games. Nevertheless, the Swiss soon regained her composure and was just one game away from victory after Sorribes Tormo’s vulnerable serves were exploited once more. Serving with ease, Bacsinszky successfully served out the match as she progresses to the second round in Paris for the fourth consecutive time where she would face Madison Brengle.
