Agnieszka Radwanska slides past Nina Bratchikova in round two – US Open 2012
World number two, Agnieszka Radwanska, ousted the 91st ranked Russian professional, Nina Bratchikova, in the opening round clash at the US Open in New York. She clinched the triumph in straight sets 6-1, 6-1; stamping
her authority with four booming aces and 15 winners in total.
At the end of the match, Radwanska talked the reporters and stated "It's always a bit harder because people expect you to play well and go far in the tournament. I'm trying not to think about the pressure and do my best. I don't
have many points to defend from last year, which is good. I'm just trying to do better than the last few years."
It was a cracking start for the Pole star who broke serve twice on the trot upfront. She led the scores 4-0 and that was a tremendous start especially after coming back from a minor injury that forced her out of the New Haven Open.
She has been facing trouble in the recent past; lacking form and not been able to live up to the expectations of her fans. However, this kind of start must have pleased the spectators everywhere in the world. She allowed just one
serve hold to her rival before grabbing the third breakpoint of the set that proved to be the action of the first phase.
A swap of breakpoints in the second set hinted at a possible turnaround from the 27-year-old Russian but the Pole suddenly controlled the situation; sneaked a serve hold and won a breakpoint to stamp her authority back into the
match.
There was no coming back from that stage of the match for the Russian professional. She was continuously hammered to all corners of the courts; not allowed to win a single point on her serve in the sixth game that posted a resounding
lead of 5-1 for her rival.
Radwanska made no mistake in rounding off the clash with a serve hold; winning four points in a row. It was a deserving triumph for the 23-year-old Pole who will lock horns with the experienced Spanish player, Carla Suarez Navarro,
in the next round.
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