2010 China Open Women’s competition, highlights from Sunday
Maria Sharapova of Russia bounced back from a first round defeat at the previous week’s Tokyo tournament with a straight set victory in her opening clash of the 2010 China Open in Beijing, defeating Tsvetana Pironkova in two sets on Sunday. The final match
score was 6-4, 7-6(5).
The twelfth seeded, Maria at the $4.5-million championship, had some trouble closing the grass court Grand Slam runner up, losing a total of nine straight points while leading 6-4, 5-4 as well as a double match point at 40-15. However, she rallied to take
the following set to a tie-break and successfully managed to get by Tsvetana in two sets.
"Going down in the first round of Tokyo gives you a window to prepare but it also does not give you as much match play as you would have hoped. First rounds are always difficult, and I had a tough opponent today. At the end of the day, I found a way to win
and that was the most important thing”, said the Russian after her yesterday’s victory.
The higher seeds in action on Sunday included the fourth seeded Samantha Stosur, who was brushed aside by Anastasija Sevastova, in three sets. The final match score was 2-6, 7-6(5), 7-5. Samantha led 5-2 in the third set and had a lead of 5-4 with a match
point.
However, the clash totally turned from there onwards, as Anastasija won eleven of the next twelve points to record her second top ten victory, having defeated Jelena Jankovic in Monterrey earlier in March. Like Maria, Samantha had lost her opening match
at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, but unlike Sharapova, the same happened in China as well.
In other action, Svetlana Kuznetsova's not so perfect season took one of its downturns on Sunday, as the former second ranked tennis ace, who is currently ranked number thirteen in the world by the Women Tennis Association (WTA), fell in the opening round
of her trophy defence at the $4.5-million tennis competition in Beijing.
Svetlana, who surpassed Agnieszka Radwanska for winning the trophy back in 2009 and was seeded number ten this season, played her best game during the second set. However, she couldn't keep her level up in the decisive set, thus losing out to Roberta Vinci,
a qualifier in three sets. The final match score was 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
"It took me some time to get used to her game, the court, the wind. I started playing well in the second set. I did not take my chances in the third set. It was equal in the third, one all, two all, three all and then I lost the break”, said Svetlana after
her loss on Sunday.
Svetlana was bothered after the year’s final major, the United States Open competition in New York by a bout of the flu and as a result she was hammered down in the second round of the previous week’s Pan Pacific in Tokyo.
"After the United States Open, I practiced hard for a week in Moscow. I was supposed to leave on Tuesday for Tokyo so I would have five days to practice and everything. I got sick. From Sunday to Saturday, one week, I was not home, I did not go out, I did
not do any fitness, and I was in bed. I did not have time, but that is how it is”, said Svetlana.
Aravane Rezai and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, also fell in their yesterday’s clashes where as Li Na as well as Nadia Petrova from Russia advanced into the second round in Beijing.
The Chinese top ranked tennis player Li Na required only fifty-eight minutes to oust Alla Kudryavtseva in two sets on Sunday. The final match score was 6-2, 6-0. Alla recently captured her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour crown in Tashkent.
Meanwhile, Petra Kvitova, Alisa Kleybanova, Polona Hercog, Maria Kirilenko, Bojana Jovanovski and Dominika Cibulkova also recorded victories.
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