Winning day for Israelis at Oz Open
SHAHAR Peer is through to third round of the Australian Open after a hard-fought straight-sets win over unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea, while 2008 men’s doubles champions Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich overcame a slow start to progress to the second round.
SHAHAR Peer is through to third round of the Australian Open after a hard-fought straight-sets win over unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea, while 2008 men’s doubles champions Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich overcame a slow start to progress to the second round.
After steamrolling Frenchwoman Mathilde Johansson in the first round, Peer looked uncomfortable with Cirstea’s power-hitting in the opening stages of her match on Margaret Court Arena on Thursday, which she won 6-3, 6-2.
With a lack of penetration on her groundstrokes and a mounting unforced-error tally, the world number 12 showed her class when it mattered, saving break points in the fifth and seventh games, before finally breaking Cristea for a chance to serve out the set.
In the second set, Peer broke again in a marathon opening game taking the wind out of her opponent’s sails and gathering momentum. Cirstea struggled with a low first-serve percentage (just 55% compared to Peer’s 75%) and the Israeli was savage on the Romanian’s second serve, breaking twice in the second set to close out the match in 92 minutes.
The 10th seed now face a tough third-round match against 22nd seed Italian Flavia Panetta on Saturday.
Ram and Erlich, together again for the first time in a Grand Slam since 2008, took some time to hit their stride in their 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over British pair Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins.
The ring rust was evident in the opening set, but it seemed to jolt the 14th seeds into action, and they dominated thereafter, breaking Fleming and Hutchens twice in the sets that followed.
Disappointed with their serving and inability to convert break point opportunities (just four from 14), Ram and Erlich told The AJN they were happy with their performance.
“It’s good to win. Our first two weeks in Australia we were struggling a bit to find our rhythm, but in the tournaments that counts we had a win,” Erlich said.
“In the opening set, we didn’t make that many mistakes, but they came on strong, but we believed in ourselves and felt that as long as the match went on our level would rise and rise. We knew we were better than them and if we kept improving we would break them and win the match.”
Ram said he and Erlich were goring in confidence and issued a warning to the doubles’ locker room.
“Ram and Erlich was a team the tour was missing for a few years. The energy, the chemistry on and off the court, I think it’s a good team for the tour. If we keep doing well, we will be back at the top, where we deserve to be, where we belong.”
Erlich paid tribute to the vocal band of supporters that cheered the pair to victory, saying both he and Ram feed off the crowd.
“That’s what we love about Australia, the vibe of the Jewish community. I don’t know how big it is, but they’re very loud and gives us a big boost.”
After a first-round exit in singles competition, Dudi Sela and doubles partner Andreas Seppi were bundled out by Mexican Santiago Gonzalez and German Philipp Marx 7-6, 3-6, 7-6.
Speaking to <I>The AJN<P> after his first-round singles loss to Juan Martin Del Potro, Seal was philosophical.
“I feel good after this match. I played okay today. I had a lot of chances and didn’t take advantage, but if I play as well as this in every tournament I think my ranking will improve again.” he said.
“I had a lot of chances even in the second and third set even though it was 6-4, 6-4. There were a lot of deuce points on his serve, but I think he served very well today and that was the key, that was why he won.”
ADAM KAMIEN AT MELBOURNE PARK
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