PARIS, 7 February 2008 — Nathalie Dechy, Virginie Razzano and Alize Cornet helped ease their Fed Cup misery as the trio of home hopes advanced to the second round of the WTA tournament here yesterday.
Dechy ousted China’s Peng Shuai in straight sets as Razzano needed three sets to get past eighth-seeded Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine. Peng, 22, had been a key player in China’s 3-2 World Group success over France at the weekend when she gave the hosts their first point with a surprise win over Razzano in Beijing.
But the French proved they are masters at home with Dechy beating Peng 6-4, 7-6 (10-8), and Razzano coming away 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 winner at the Pierre de Coubertin stadium. They were later joined by teenager Cornet who got past Czech qualifier Klara Zakopalova 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Peng missed her chance to force a third set as she threw away a 6-1 lead in the tiebreak. Dechy, ranked 64th, looked in command early in her first meeting against 50th-ranked Peng, wrapping up the first set with two breaks. But Dechy, making her 11th appearance in Paris, showed signs of fatigue in the second, being broken as she served for the match at 5-3, with Peng winning three games in a row before the French player broke back to force a tense tiebreak. The 28-year-old Dechy next meets top-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze, the recipient of a first round bye.
Razzano, meanwhile, had a tougher time getting past Bondarenko despite coasting through the first set. Fellow French players Amelie Mauresmo, the sixth seed, and Marion Bartoli, seeded third, have also qualified for the second round.
Radwanska Advances in Pattaya
In Pattaya, Thailand, top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland won a hard-fought match against Vania King of the US yesterday to advance to the second round of the $170,000 Pattaya Women’s Open.
The 21st-ranked teenager fought back from behind in both sets to win 7-5, 7-6 in a long baseline battle that took two hours and 25 minutes. Second-seeded Casey Dellacqua of Australia made a strong debut in Pattaya by breezing past Akiko Yonemura of Japan 6-2, 6-3 in just 64 minutes.
Dellacqua will next play Andreja Klepac of Slovenia, who beat wild card Urszula Radwanska 7-6, 6-2.
In yesterday’s other first round matches, fourth-seeded Taiwanese Chan Yung-jan defeated Zhou Yi-miao of China 6-4, 6-2 and qualifier Vesna Mansieva of Russia quickly disposed of Thai wildcard entrant Nudnida Luangnam 6-0, 6-1.
Israeli Tzipora Obziler eliminated local Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6-1, 6-2 and lucky loser Sunitha Rao of India beat Japan’s Junri Namigata 6-1, 6-4.
