Agnieszka Radwanska overcomes injury-stricken Jamie Hampton in round four – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Polish number one, Agnieszka Radwanska, registered a 6-3, 4-6, 3-0 retirement victory over the local wild card entrant, Jamie Hampton, at the BNP Paribas Open 2012 on Tuesday. As a result, the fifth seeded Pole advanced into the quarter-finals at this hard
court tournament taking place in California, United States.
The fifth seed stayed on course to grab her second year-to-date title after overpowering Hampton in an hour and 40-minute duel. She was leading 3-0 in the final set when the world number 99 was forced to withdraw due to cramps.
"I saw she was cramping when she fell down. It's always tough to have that, and it's even tougher to come back and play after that," the Pole said in a courtside interview after the match. "It was too bad, because she has had some really good matches here
and was playing some really good tennis. I was really in trouble in the second set today. Jamie hits the ball very well, she's very consistent, has a good serve and moves very well too. She was playing well today until the cramps."
Ranked 5th in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Rankings, Radwanska stormed into the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and winded up the opening four games in a row before Hampton could hold on. Despite losing her serve in the eighth game,
the Pole kept her intensity and broke the American’s serve again to clinch the opener with a 6-3 score line.
The local star sought her rhythm in the following set and kept her entire serves after blocking the lone breakpoint she came across. Hampton found three break opportunities and converted one to her advantage in the fifth game, ultimately sealing the equaliser
by winning six games to four.
The match was balanced at a knife edge but the higher re-gathered her strength and stroke out the opening three games in a row before the American was forced to retire due to cramps.
Next up for the Pole is the world number one, Victoria Azarenka, who has not lost a single match this season. Radwanska on the other hand had lost only four matches this year with three of them coming against the Belarusian. She had to pull out from the
BMW Malaysian Open which marked her fourth defeat of the season.
The top seed crushed the German star, Julia Goerges, with a breadstick to set-up this epic duel.
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