Sabine Winter and her new ‘Anti-spin’ backhand continue to create waves on the circuit, as she won 3-1 (11-4, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7) in a tough encounter against Lee Eunhye. Winter used her backhand to great effect, constantly using changes of pace and twiddles to unsettle Lee. She also used her big forehand topspin to counter attack weak topspin shots from Lee, causing massive problems and thus taking the match.
“I am very satisfied with my start and am happy to get the win. I think I managed to create a lot of pressure by winning the first game 11-4, as the format means that every game and point is important. She came back well in the third game, but I am happy with the way I adapted and glad I could close out the match”, said Sabine.
Vitor Ishiy (Brazil) and Oh Junsung (Korea Republic) opened their campaigns with commanding straight-set wins over Finn Luu (Australia) and Dean Shu (New Zealand) respectively.
The Oceania representatives, who are also World Cup debutants, struggled to counter their opponents’ speed and power, succumbing to dominant rallies and consistent pressure.
Sreeja Akula ensured a happy day for the Indian contingent, as she won 3-1 (11-9, 11-4, 11-8, 6-11) against Constantina Psihogios, in a match that was closer than the score line suggests.
“Great start to my campaign and I am happy that I got the win. She (Constantina) played really well, her attacks were really spinny and I had to fight hard. It was my first match, so I took some time to settle into the conditions. I now look forward to my next match and will prepare”, said Sreeja.
Kanak Jha romped to a 4-0 (11-1, 11-4, 11-4, 11-3) win against familiar foe Horacio Cifuentes in a Pan American contest. Jha used his serves and counter attacks to great effect, never allowing Cifuentes to find any rhythm, securing the most lopsided of his victories against the experienced Argentine.
“I have a lot of respect for Horacio, we have played many times over the years. He can be extremely dangerous and I tried to keep my level up throughout the match as every point is important, especially in this format”, said Kanak.
