Keothavong slips to Schiavone defeat
Anne admitted to lacking confidence after losing to Francesca Schiavone in their rain-affected opener in Turkey
Anne Keothavong admitted to lacking “confidence and conviction” in her game after bowing out of the Istanbul Cup on Tuesday with defeat to French Open champ Francesca Schiavone.
“Against a player like Francesca, you can’t afford to doubt yourself,” said the British No.3 after her 6-2 6-2 defeat.
“I had beaten her in our previous match but today I didn’t give myself that much of chance. She made a lot of balls and unfortunately I couldn’t produce the kind of tennis I know I’m capable of.”
Schiavone had taken a 4-0 lead on Monday before rain put an end to proceedings, and though Keothavong managed to get points on the board on the resumption – grabbing a break of serve – the 26-year-old Londoner was unable to force a repeat of her 2008 US Open victory over the Italian.
There was some joy for Keothavong though, after she teamed up with world No.82 Petra Martic to seal a doubles win over Marina Erakovic and Sorana Cirstea.
“Doubles with Petra Martic was good fun and it was good to get a win against the fourth seeds, Cristea and Erakovic,” she said. “We’ve never played together before but we gelled well and enjoyed it.”