Safina resists Santangelo in opener
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
No 6 seed Dinara Safina from Russia defeated fellow Olympic debutant Mara Santangelo from Italy 6-3, 7-6(1) in her first round match of the tennis event Monday.
Santangelo, who struggled with her serve in the opening set, provided the in-form Russian with a challenge in the second set, recovering from a 3-0 deficit to push Safina to a tie-break.
The Italian, ranked 176th in the world, broke Safina in the fourth and eighth games of the second set to level the score at 4-4. Santangelo became more confident with her forehand, producing 10 winners to Safina's four, and relied on her doubles expertise to gain points at the net.
Santangelo, who struggled with her serve in the opening set, provided the in-form Russian with a challenge in the second set, recovering from a 3-0 deficit to push Safina to a tie-break.
The Italian, ranked 176th in the world, broke Safina in the fourth and eighth games of the second set to level the score at 4-4. Santangelo became more confident with her forehand, producing 10 winners to Safina's four, and relied on her doubles expertise to gain points at the net.