Alison Riske breezes past Naomi Broady in the second qualifying round – Australian Open 2012
American competitor, Alison Riske, squared off against the 21-year-old Briton age fellow, Naomi Broady, in the second qualifying round of the Australian Open on Friday. A thrilling three-setter ended up with a triumph for the American
tennis ace as she grabbed the next round berth with a score of 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.
Not many people turned out to watch this encounter; probably it was a non-Aussie encounter. Both players were facing each other at the courts for the first time in their career and knew little about each other’s technique and skill
level.
Riske was enjoying a good run of form and had played two back-to-back tournaments in Auckland and Hobart recently; form was definitely good and luck was on her side as well. Broady had a long season break and was commencing her
New Year campaign with the qualifiers.
Briton started off the match in stunning manner with a successful serve game and a break to her name upfront. Riske replied with a break point in the fifth game but Broady struck back with a serve break to hold her two-game lead.
No more breaks were seen in the first set as both players hung on to their serves and the Briton bagged the first set with no problem at all.
Everyone thought that the American had a tough first two weeks of the season so she will be tired and fatigued out. Riske started the second set in emphatic fashion and took 3-0 lead at the start, which included a successful serve
break in the second game. Both players exchanged break points in the fifth and sixth game to push the scores to 4-2 in favour of the American. Riske showed a lot of aggression and bagged another break that confirmed her set triumph over Broady.
Momentum was with the American and she completely destroyed her opponent in the last set; spared nothing at all. Broady couldn’t win a single game and with three successful breaks Riske marched into the next round. The American
showed great potential to bounce back a set down to claim the next round berth.
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