Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beats Jelena Jankovic, defends her Monterrey Open 2011 title
Second seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeated world number six Jelena Jankovic in a three set final to defend her title at the Whirlpool Abierto Monterrey Tennis Championships 2011.
The Russian started the match in an uncertain fashion. She committed a fair number of unforced errors including two double faults in the first set. Her opponent made the most of the presented chances as she clinched the set 6-2.
However, Pavlyuchenkova was able to turn the tables in the second set. The Russian gave Jankovic a considerable run for her money breaking her serve twice to level the set score 1-1. She used her forehand very effectively to create difficult angles for her
opponent at the baseline.
The third set also followed a similar pattern. Having the psychological advantage in the battle, Pavlyuchenkova took the attack to her opponent even further smashing forehands and backhands on both sides of the court. She made the required serve breaks in
the seventh and ninth game to complete a deserving 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory in the championships.
After the win, Pavlyuchenkova said, “I am very happy to win defend my title. It was my goal when I came here.”
Despite losing the first set in 35 minutes, the Russian was able to regroup herself and gave a formidable performance in all areas of the game in the next two sets. Her combined first serve conversion rate was 61 per cent as compared to 57 achieved by the
Serbian. She was also the more consistent of the two players in the serve return department earning 40 per cent of the points. However, the most noticeable aspect of her game was her ability to generate powerful and accurate serves at crucial moments as she
fired eight aces in the match.
The 19-year-old Russian had her first noticeable success at the international level when she defeated Daniela Hantuchova in the final of 2010 Monterrey Open. She then kept on improving with every tournament she participated in. Pavlyuchenkova won her second
Women’s Tennis Association title at the Istanbul Cup 2010 where she stunned Elena Vesnina recovering from a 5-7, 0-4 deficit before winning the final 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
Still in early days of her career, Pavlyuchenkova has earned a reputation of being a determined and fighting opponent. Her technique, temperament, skills and stamina were tested in every way during the competition but she never lost her focus. An impeccable
3-0 record in the WTA finals will surely give her the confidence to play her natural game against other top players.
On the other hand, former world number one and top seed Jelena Jankovic looked disappointed after the match as she failed to capitalise on her chances. The 26-year-old Serbian looked set to win her first WTA title of the season after she got off to a good
start but was unable to keep the momentum going when the screws were tightened.
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