CARA Black was on Monday defeated in straight sets in the qualifying singles match at the ongoing 2013 Qatar Total Open in Doha.
REPORT BY HENRY MHARA
The country’s most successful woman tennis player looked off her game as she fell 6-2 6-2 to Ekaterina Bychkova on the opening day of the tournament. The Russian progressed to the first round where she will face Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan.
Reports from Doha show that the match started off fairly evenly and continued on serve until Black was broken in the fourth game by the 209 ATP ranked Ekaterina who went on to take the first set.
Black opened the second with a point, but Ekaterina hit back to pile on the pressure by claiming an immediate break of serve to win the match.
The 33-year-old Black, who is largely known for her prowess in the doubles, was set to compete in the Women Doubles yesterday evening hoping to redeem herself from the early exit in the singles. She was expected to partner her long time colleague Anastasia Rodionova against Kathrin Woerle of Germany and Fatma Al Nabhani from Omani.
Black is slowly making a comeback in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tour this year after spending more than a year out.
The Harare-born star stole the limelight early this year after making a winning comeback when she and Rodionova won the ASB Classic in Auckland.
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The pair later competed at the Australian Open where they were knocked out in the third round.
Black is undoubtedly the country’s most decorated female tennis player of all time with a total of 10 Grand Slam titles, including one WTA Tour singles title.
In total, Black has won 54 international titles.
