Posted on: October 01st, 2011
Sampras falls to Safin in first-ever Diamond Court Match
- petepageOn a chilly night in Beijing, Marat Safin defeated Pete Sampras in straight sets during an exhibition match at the opening ceremony of the Beijing China Open 2011.
Sampras had his cross-court game working early but was unable to overcome Safin’s powerful first-serves. Sampras was broken early in both sets that ultimately proved the decisive factor in the match.
Despite the crowd heavily favoring Sampras, Safin was able to win the match 6-3, 6-4, in just over an hour.
After the inaugural match on Diamond Court, the two paired up with two of China’s most promising tennis stars, Peng Shuai and Zhang Shuai in a mixed doubles match.
Playing alongside Safin was Peng Shuai, currently ranked 20th in the WTA. On the other side of the court was 22-year-old, Zhang Shuai, who was paired up with the former No. 1 Pete Sampras.
In a crowd-entertaining match, both Sampras and Safin had the crowd laughing at their clowning-around, as Peng and Zhang showed off the skills that have the tennis world talking about the two upcoming Chinese players.
Zhang Shuai will face Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulka and Peng Shuai will face Italian Flavia Pennetta in the Women’s Singles tournament beginning tomorrow.
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