Pe’er crushes Lalami in Qatar opener

Shahar Pe’er records her first double-bagel in five years to reach the second round of the Qatar Open.

By ALLON SINAI
Shahar Pe'er 390 (R) (photo credit: REUTER/Regis Duvignau )
Shahar Pe'er 390 (R)
(photo credit: REUTER/Regis Duvignau )
After a rough few weeks, Shahar Pe’er picked up much-needed confidence on Monday, recording her first double-bagel in five years to reach the second round of the Qatar Open.
Pe’er, ranked No. 37 in the world, beat Nadia Lalami (334) of Morocco 6-0, 6- 0 in a mere 42 minutes, winning 52 of 70 points in the match.
The 24-year-old Israeli, who is taking the extensive security measures she always does when playing in the Persian Gulf, faces a far tougher second-round encounter against world No. 13 Jelena Jankovic.
Pe’er, who lost two of her three Fed Cup singles matches in Eilat two weeks ago before taking just four games off Julia Goerges in the first round of the Paris Open last week, will be looking for her first career victory over Jankovic, with the former world No. 1 beating the Israeli in both their previous meetings.
Dudi Sela, who climbed one place to No. 73 in the world on Monday, is playing in San Jose this week and will face Australian Matthew Ebden in the first round.