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Eighth seeded Peangtarn hits 8 aces to power into semi-finals
On Friday, during the NECC Deccan ITF $25,000 women’s tennis tournament at Deccan Gymkhana, the Thai player was 3-0 down against qualifier Alicia Smith of Australia before she regrouped and completed 6-4, 6-3 win to advance into the semi-final.
Pune: Eighth seeded Peangtarn Plipuech of Thailand does not like to speak much and she prefers quick-fire answers like scoring aces. It is her style, where only racquet does all the talking.
On Friday, during the NECC Deccan ITF $25,000 women’s tennis tournament at Deccan Gymkhana, the Thai player was 3-0 down against qualifier Alicia Smith of Australia before she regrouped and completed 6-4, 6-3 win to advance into the semi-final.
“I am happy to qualify. This is not the first time, but I am excited to be part of top four,” said Peangtaran who once ranked 175 in 2017, but inconsistent game made her stand 349 in the last three years.
“I just started to keep the ball inside the court after 3-0 down in the first set and since then it was an easy game,” she said.
Smith was unable to dismantle Peangtaran once she kept hitting backhand returns, and managed to return only on few occasions.
Smith gave a fight in the second set with forehand slices, but once she was broken in the fifth game, Peangtaran advanced with ease.
The 82-minute match
Set 1
First 20 minutes: Alicia excels
Qualifier Alicia looked better with a 3-0 lead. Except one double fault, the Australian kept things tight from her side.
Next 21 minutes: Peangtaran comeback
After 3-0 down, Peangtaran regrouped herself and started to fire with her backhand. Although a little bit inconsistent, she managed to make it 3-all first then surged ahead by breaking the opponent’s serve in the seventh game and holding her serve; She fired three aces in next three games to seal the set 6-4.
Set 2
Next 20 minutes: Peangtaran’s ace game
Two aces in the second game cleared her intention as she added a lot more variation to her play and broke the opponent in the fifth game to inch ahead with 3-2 score line.
Next 21 minutes: Alicia tries to catch up but fails
With Peangtaran surging ahead, Alicia tried to mix up her game with serve and volley, but it did not helped her much as Peangtaran was very good with her returns and wrapped up the set 6-3 breaking the opponent in 7th and 9th game.
Stats
8-Pilipuech, Peangtaran (Tha) vs q-Alicia Smith (Aus)
8 Ace 2
2 Double faults 6
71 Total Points won 54
5 Maximum games in row 3
HT Analysis
What worked for Peangtaran: Hitting aces and powerful returns worked for the Thailand player. After a dull start, Peangtaran played her ace game and dominated the court.
What not worked for Alicia: Getting defensive after 3-0 lead and not going for aggressive shots allowed Peangtaran to control the match.
Result: 8-Plipuech Peangtaran (Tha) bt q-Alicia Smith (Aus) 6-4, 6-3
