Winning Day For Erakovic On Court

Kiwi tennis player, Marina Erakovic has got off to a winning, albeit a long winning start to the WTA US$220,000 Texas Open in Dallas.

Erakovic had a 2hour 51minute victory over Britain’s Anne Keothavong 6-1 5-7 7-6(9) in the singles first round.

Both players had difficulty with their serve; Erakovic had nine double faults, while Keothavong had 13. They also suffered from low first serve percentages; Erakovic 48 and Keothavong 54.                                                                                                                   

However Erakovic was able to stay in the vital points just a bit longer than her opponent to grind out a win.

It is the second time in two months that 24-year-old Erakovic has defeated Keothavong. She beat her in the first round of the Carlsbad tournament in California last month.

The 54th ranked Erakovic will now take on South African seventh seed, Channelle Scheepers in the second round who has a current WTA ranking of 42. They have played only once previously, with Scheepers taking that match in three sets in Rome earlier this year.

In doubles Erakovic had another long match as she and Brit Heather Watson took over an hour to account for the unheralded American combination of Elizabeth Lumpking and Yasmin Schnack 6-2 2-6 10-8. In the quarterfinals they will play Americans Jennifer Elie and Asia Muhammed.

When Erakovic and Watson last played together they won the title at Stanford. 

The tournament is build up for the US Open which commences next week in New York.