Agnieszka Radwanska rallies past Lepchecnko; sets up date with Hampton in Stanford – Tennis News
Top seed, Agnieszka Radwanska, got the better of the local challenger, Varvara Lepchenko, in a three-set thriller at the Bank of the West Classic 2013 on Friday night. She summed up a 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3 victory against the sixth seed to secure a spot in the
final four at this WTA Premier event being held in Stanford, United States of America. Radwanska will face off another local seed, Jamie Hampton for a place in the final.
The Polish top ranked star, Radwanska, lost her track in the second set. However, she found her rhythm again and eventually pulled out the victory in their fourth encounter. As a result, Radwanska improved to a 4-0 lifetime in the head-to-head series against
the left-handed American.
"This is my first tournament back on hardcourts so I'm struggling with a few things," Radwanska commented in a post match presser. "I wasn't feeling the ball at all. I really wanted to win that match, and I'm happy I did, but I still went out and practiced
a little bit afterwards because I really didn't play my best tennis tonight. It was a weird match. There were a lot of ups and downs for both of us. But I fought until the end."
In the opening set, both players exchanged breaks and levelled the scores. The set went to a tie-breaker where Radwanska dominated and clicked the opener with a 7-6(1) win.
Lepchenko showed resistance in the following set and broke the Pole’s opening serve to leap to a 3-0 lead. She held her remaining serves with poise and clinched the equaliser with a 6-3 score line.
In the deciding set, Radwanska sought her rhythm again. She went down twice after losing her serve but prevailed, eventually sealing the decider by winning six games to three.
Up next for Radwanska is fourth seeded Hampton who triumphed over Vera Dushevina in straight sets to set-up this battle.
The seeded American played brilliant tennis and won eight of her nine service games. In addition to this, Hampton did not face any breakpoint in these eight games she won and broke her rival’s serve four times.
"I definitely felt better about my game today," the American stated in a courtside interview after pocketing the match. "The ball's coming off nicely, much, much cleaner, and I served better too. It's not where I'd like to be, but it's certainly an improvement."
In the other semi-final clash, the Slovakian beauty Dominika Cibulkova will take on Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.
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