Fiona Ferro was the last player from the Côte d’Azur still in contention at the Open Capfinance in Rouen. Facing her compatriot Jessika Ponchet, she failed to maintain the pace throughout the match.
After an impressive run of three victories since the Rouen Open qualifying rounds against Emeline Dartron, Manon Leonard and in the first round against McCartney Kessler, Fiona Ferro had a round of 16 match on Wednesday. She faced her compatriot, Jessika Ponchet (28 years old, 146th in the world). The two players had already faced each other three times (two victories for Fiona Ferro).
Starting better, Fiona Ferro took the lead by breaking at the start. More active, the adopted player from Menton benefited from her opponent’s numerous backhand errors. Solid on her first serve, she managed to lead quickly (2-0). Jessika Ponchet gradually worked her way into the match thanks to her devastating serve (six aces in the first set). The two players implemented their variation game. The power of the player from Bayonne eventually made the difference. She broke back at (3-3) and pushed Fiona Ferro to a tiebreaker. The player from Valbonne, less sharp, was caught off guard by a backhand slice and saw the first set slip away four points to seven (6-7).
A high-quality second set
Jessika Ponchet showed great energy and increasingly let loose with her unorthodox but effective technique. On the other side, Fiona Ferro began to show signs of fatigue. Logical after having already played three matches in three days. However, she didn’t give up as is her habit. Faced with the power of her opponent on serve often over 170 km/h, it was difficult to create opportunities to take the advantage. Fiona Ferro then alternated between good and less good play. After a solid opening service game, she committed too many errors in the next and got broken.
Already with her back against the wall at (1-3) in the second set, Fiona Ferro found the right zones. More precise, she got a break point opportunity which she converted as her opponent seemed to have slightly relaxed. After that the match intensified, Fiona Ferro found a second wind but didn’t have the weapons to counter Jessika Ponchet’s power. The latter regained her break advantage and pulled away. Despite good tenacity, Fiona Ferro lost (7-6 / 6-4) in just over an hour and a half in this round of 16 match in Rouen. The player from the Côte d’Azur had a good week and is in reconstruction after her break of nearly seven months.
NicePremium is a free, independent local news outlet.
Help us keep going by supporting our work from €5 per month.
