Former tournament champion Mona Barthel has defeated South Africa’s world No. 62 Chanelle Scheepers to secure a place in the quarterfinals of the Moorilla Hobart International.
Despite opening the match with an ace, it was a slow start for world No. 32 Barthel with numerous unforced errors. The German, who reached the semi-final in the Auckland Classic last week, struggled to find her rhythm giving her South African opponent the chance to hone in with powerful ground strokes to break 2-1 in the first. Barthel clawed her way back in the following game with well executed down-the-line strokes to break and even the score 2-2.
“I think it was a difficult match. She played really well, I think she returned really well and played really aggressive so I didn’t have a lot of time to play my game. In the important moments I played good tennis,” Barthel said post-match.
As the set progressed Barthel grew in confidence, out-powering the 28-year-old South African. After a run of winners from the German, Scheepers turned up the heat, demonstrating a solid first serve and successful net advances.
The set continued point-for-point, forcing a tie-break. Both players fought belligerently to triumph but after some solid serves from Barthel, the German surged forward to take the first set 7-6(3).
Right-handed Scheepers stormed out in the second, advancing to the net and dominating the play. After a shotgun start of 2-0 it seemed as though Scheepers might sprint ahead to take an early lead before Barthel stood her ground and broke back 1-2.
Barthel whipped several winners down the line, off-footing her opponent. She advanced aggressively to take the set to 4-4, putting pressure on Scheepers to respond. At 5-5 the match could have swayed in either direction with both players boasting clean hitting from the baseline. With strong serving, Barthel had the edge rushing ahead with an ace to take the match 7-5.
By Rosie Jones