Anabel Medina Garrigues overcomes Sorana Cirstea to enter round three – Mutua Madrid Open 2012
Spanish number one, Anabel Medina Garrigues, battled past the Romanian star, Sorana Cirstea, in a three-set nail-biter at the Mutua Madrid Open 2012 on Tuesday. She summed up a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 victory over the 22-year-old to labour into the third round at
her home soil tournament.
Medina Garrigues got the better of the world number 46 in their first encounter against each other. After earning the glory in two hours and 18 minutes, the Spaniard not only edged in the head-to-head series by 1-0 against Cirstea but also set-up a duel
with the American qualifier, Varvara Lepchenko.
"It was very difficult to return her serve today, so I had to be focused and wait for my moments," Medina Garrigues commented in a post-match press conference. "At the end of the match I could really feel the support from the crowd. I saw all the people
wanting me to do well here at home, so I was just giving it my best at the end of the match. Last year here I lost to Safarova 7-6 in the third after having match point, so to win this match 7-5 in the third makes me really happy."
The 29-year-old made a drastic start at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Mandatory event and suffered the first blow in the opening game to trail at 0-1. However, she blasted flat groundstrokes and went on a six games tear. Medina Garrigues
brushed capitalised on three out of four break opportunities to pull out the opener with a breadstick.
Cirstea re-focused her strategy in the second set and slid her opening serve with poise. She then continued hammering forehands and backhands to swipe in remaining serves. The Romanian got the breakthrough in the eighth game and sealed the equaliser by winning
six games to three.
Ranked 30th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Medina Garrigues reclaimed his early ascendancy in the final crucial set. She smoothly held her entire serves and cashed in the lone break chance in the last game to click the decider with a 7-5 score line.
Medina Garrigues’ next opponent, Lepchenko shocked the Israeli number one, Shahar Peer, in straight sets to set-up this clash.
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