Alisa Kleybanova outplayed Flavia Pannetta in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open
World number 24 Alisa Kleybanova of Russia defeated 13th seeded Italian, Flavia Pannetta in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California on Monday evening. The 22nd seed Russian had
few problems in overcoming her opponent, winning the contest in straight sets at 6-3, 6-4, in 77 minutes.
Kleybanova finally beat the world number 15, Pannetta, in their fifth meeting at Indian Wells; while the Italian had been victorious on four prior occasions when they met. The Russian appeared in good form and rarely faced a serious
challenge from her opponent in the contest. However, her poor serve quality needs immediate rectification as she delivered a mere 49 per cent in the match, including five double faults.
The Russian compensated for her low serve percentage by winning 23 out of 26 first serve points in the match and converting 100 per cent break opportunity she received. Kleybanova was quick to start off the competition and looked
in an aggressive mood. She raided the net frequently to deliver cracking cross-court winners by converting volleys and exerting pressure upon her opponent. The 29-year-old Italian veteran crumbled under the game pressure and dropped her game to lose the match
against the Russian.
Pannetta’s serve was even worse than her opponent, registering just 37 per cent accuracy in the first set. She capitalized upon three double faults from Kleybanova to register a serve break but the Russian belted two break points
to lead the set to conclusion.
The 22nd seeded Russian served just 43 per cent first serve on target but amazingly won 75 per cent points on it. Kleybanova had a rock solid baseline defence to deny two break points to the Italian in the opener. Her
forehand worked perfectly for her as she banged a number of winners down the line to seal the first set at 6-3.
The Italian uplifted her first serve percentage to an impressive 74 in the second set but merely clinched 56 per cent total serve points. Her defence was bleak and footwork sloppy, the weaknesses well exploited by Kleybanova. The
Russian played some elegant cross-court strokes to keep building pressure over her opponent.
A total of 52 points were played in the set, with Kleybanova collecting 29 and her opponent nabbing 23. The Russian won 100 per cent of her first serve points and broke Pannetta on two different occasions before concluding the
second set at 6-4, ensuring a berth for herself in the fourth round of the tournament.
Kleybanova will square off against the world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round for qualifying for the quarter-finals. The top seed continued her sublime form at Indian Wells and defeated Martinez Sanchez in the
third round 6-1, 6-3, to advance to the fourth round of the event.
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