Bartoli stays on course at the BMW Malaysian Tennis Open
Kuala Lumpur, Tuesday, – Marion Bartoli showed her class today in her opening match of the BMW Malaysian Open 2011 against Italian Maria Elena Camerin.
Bartoli justified her status of being the French number 1 when she won comfortably 6 – 0, 6 – 1 and will play Ekaterina Ivanova of Russia.
Camerin was powerless and could do little much as an in form Bartoli took control of the match from early on.
“I am very happy with the way I played. To my opponent’s credit she did try hard to provide competition for me during the match but I went into the match confidently. I knew what I needed to do and I did it well. Overall I am happy with my good performance which is great considering I am playing some of my best tennis for the year,” Bartoli said.
“I am playing better now as I have put my past injuries behind me, and I am much tougher now both physically and mentally. Even though I am playing well and expect to advance in this tournament, it does not mean my path to the final is made easier, as it is tough being a seeded player as every other player will want to beat you. Looking at my path ahead, I will focus my attention on each and every game at hand’.
In the match that pitted two ‘experienced veterans’ against one another on Centre Court with a combined age of seventy-six, 35 year old qualifier Anne Kremer from Luxembourg continued with her tournament’s fine form as she shocked the 41 year old Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in a marathon battle over three sets. Kremer came back from a set down to win 4 – 6, 6 – 2, 7 – 6(5).
Kremer will now play Thailand’s Noppawan Lertcheewakarn for a place in the last eight on Wednesday.
In the last match of the day, Dinara Safina made short work of Han Xinyun of China, winning 6-2, 6-0 and will meet fifth seed Lucie Safarova.
The BMW Malaysian Open 2011, a leg of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour – the world’s leading professional sport for women is being held from 28th February to 6th March 2011 at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian and Country Resort. The tournament has 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams’ competing in a knockout style competition for the prize purse of USD 220,000.00.
Tickets for the tournament can be obtained from TicketPro through their website at www.ticketpro.com.my or by calling +603 7880 7999. For ticket prices and other information log on to the official website of the tournament at www.bmwmalaysianopen.com.
