The first day of competition at the BMW Malaysian Open 2011 did not at all disappoint as the Qualifying Round saw players battling each other ferociously till the very end in order to secure victory and progress onto the next round. The three main hard courts of the Bukit Kiara Equestrian and Country Resort that were previously void of action came to life from 10am onwards as the first round of matches for the Qualifying Round got underway.

From the first set of Qualifying Round matches, the Jessica Moore versus CaglaBuyukakcay match on Centre Court turned out to be an exciting and entertaining affair as Australian Moore laboured hard over three sets to finally overcome her equally determined Turkish opponent 0 - 6, 7 – 6(4), 6 – 2.

The thriller match out of the second set of Qualifying Round matches was between Sun Shengnan of China against Erika Sema of Japan on Court 3, with the Chinese lass proving to be the better of the two by recording a hard fought 1 – 6, 6 – 3, 6 – 1 win.

The highlight of the third set of Qualifying Round matches was the east meets west match between Aiko Nakamura of Japan and Nikola Hofmanova of Austria. Despite starting slow and dropping the first set, the former Austrian Fed Cup Team member managed to overcome her Japanese opponent over three gruelling sets, recording a 2 – 6, 6 – 4, 7 – 6(3) hard fought victory. Zhang Ling of Hong Kong was in her element and at the top of her game as she played a perfect game and blitzed her Chinese opponent Liu Wanting in straight sets, 6 – 0, 6 – 0.

In the fourth set of Qualifying Round matches, the match to watch took place on Court 2 as a resilient and determined NudnidaLuangnam of Thailand laboured hard to eclipse her Ukrainian opponent MarynaZanevska over three long and gruelling sets, registering a 6 – 4, 3 – 6, 6 – 4 win just as the dark clouds began to hover above. Playing on Centre Court, Malaysia’s sole flag bearer in the tournament, wild card entry TheiviyaSelvarajoofailed in her attempt to progress further in the tournament as the teenager fell to UkranianTetianaLuzhanska in straight set 6 – 1, 6 – 1.

Towards the end of the day, the fifth set of Qualifying Round matches saw Chan Chin-Wei of Taiwan overcoming her Chinese opponent ZhengSaiSai with relative ease, posting a straight sets win of 6 – 2, 6 – 0. “The weather was good and it was windy, but I was comfortable with my surroundings and even though I was playing an unknown opponent, I persevered and stuck to my game plan, and I am happy with the outcome of the match”, said a beaming Chan.

Now that the first day of competition has drawn to a close on a relatively good note, the remaining eight days of competition should not be missed and tennis fans should take this opportunity to watch exciting and thrilling competitive matches in the flesh on Malaysian soil by coming down to The Bukit Kiara Equestrian and Country Resort.

Attached is the Order of Play for tomorrow (Sunday, Feb 27, 2011)