Alisa Kleybanova’s run ends at the hands of Maria Kirilenko in 2nd round – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
Alisa Kleybanova’s comeback run was finally halted by the Russian veteran, Maria Kirilenko, in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open on Friday. The 22-year-old suffered a 6-7(1), 3-6 defeat at the hands of the world number
22 to fall out of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier-level event in Miami, Florida.
Kleybanova stepped on the hard courts of Miami after a year-long layoff due to career-threatening illness and won her opening round combat against Johanna Larsson. She was tested by the 25-year-old Kirilenko in the second round
and couldn’t withstand the fury of the hard-hitting Russian, eventually succumbing in the second set.
It was the second encounter between these two competitors on the professional tour, with Kleybanova winning the first one in Sydney three years back. Kirilenko’s stunning performance on Friday levelled the head-to-head record to
1-1 against her fellow compatriot and granted her a berth in the third round of the tournament draw.
Kleybanova fought valiantly in the opening set, moving neck-to-neck with her opponent and dragging the set into a tie-breaker round. She totally went astray in the decider and could pocket just one point in the entire-breaker round
to drop the first set. A more thumping reply from Kirilenko in the second set left Kleybanova stunned and drove her out of the tournament in despair.
"Even if I lost I can't say I'm disappointed with what I've done here," Kleybanova said. "It was already a miracle for me to be back so quickly, and winning my first match too, and then playing so close with someone like Maria.
This has been a good achievement for me. For one month of training this was my limit. Of course there are things I want to improve on before I'm 100% physically ready to play my real game - aggressive, fast and explosive. I'm still getting a little bit tired
during the long points. I just need some time to improve."
Kirilenko moved into the third round to face the Kazakh opponent, Ksenia Pervak, who made a huge upset in the second round by beating the 11th seed Italian tennis aces, Francesca Schiavone.
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