Pierce Comes Ready to Play – Routs Groenefeld

Pierce came ready to play as she scored an impressive 6-1, 6-1 victory over the unseeded Groenefeld on Stadium Court at the La Costa Resort and Spa.

The 20-year-old German had reached the semifinals of last week’s WTA Tour event in Stanford and had won four of her last five matches.

Pierce quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead and closed out the first set in 33 minutes when Groenefeld double-faulted on the third set point.

After Groenefeld held serve to make the score 1-1 in the second set, Pierce reeled off five straight games to win the match in one-hour and two minutes.

How dominate was Pierce? In the second set, she won 16 of the last 19 points of the match.

“I took Anna-Lena extremely serious today. She’s really gotten fitter and has had some great results lately,” Pierce said. “I came out from the very beginning in the first point of the match ready to play.”

Pierce added, “I felt like I served well, returned well, moved well and actually surprised myself with how well I played today.”

• Pierce advances to the third round where she will face compatriot Nathalie Dechy, who is seeded 10th.
• Pierce is ranked 14th in the world.
• Pierce is making her ninth Acura Classic appearance. She reached the finals here in 1998.
• Pierce improves her 2005 match record to 24-10.
• This was their first head-to-head meeting.
• Groenefeld is ranked 29 in the world.
• Groenefeld was making her Acura Classic debut.
• Groenefeld is now 27-17 in 2005.
  

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