Anabel Medina Garrigues advances to semi-finals of Abierto Mexicano Telcel Tennis Championships
Spanish Anabel Medina Garrigues advanced to the semi-finals of the ongoing Abierto Mexicano Telcel Tennis Championships 2011 when her compatriot Carla Suarez Navarro had to retire from the match.
Garrigues started the match with a very positive attitude. She looked in fabulous touch and quickly wrapped up the first set 6-2. The Spanish hit the ball cleanly from the baseline and mixed it up with a few surprise volleys and drop shots. She penetrated
her opponent’s game with her magnificent stroke play.
The second set opened on a more competitive note. Both players exchanged volleys and worked hard for their points. However, when the second set score was tied at 2-2, Navarro suffered from a leg injury and thus had to retire after consulting with her personal
trainer.
Navarro looked extremely upset for not making it through to semi-finals after doing all the hard work in the tournament. The former world number 22 took medical time out before the fifth game but was advised not to continue with the match.
The two players faced each other only once before at the Australian Open in 2009 when Suarez Navarro registered a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2 win. But on Thursday, it was all about Garrigues as she overwhelmed her opponent.
The 28-year-old Garrigues had her fair share of success early on in her career but since then she has not hit her peak form. This is the fourth event of the 2011 season for Medina Garrigues and only the first one in which she has advanced beyond the second
round.
Her opponent in the semi-final will be the fourth seed Argentinean Gisela Dulko who defeated Laura Pous-Tio 3-6, 7-5, 6-0. Dulko is the highest seeded player left in the tournament and is a favourite to win the title.
The other two semi-finalists are Johanna Larsson and Arantxa Parra Santonja. Larsson defeated third seed German Greta Arn 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 and Santonja sealed a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over the Spanish Lourdes Dominguez Lino.
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