Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova outguns Melinda Czink to reach the quarters – Citi Open 2012
World number 28, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russian, had a rough ride before she eventually hunted down the Hungarian veteran, Melinda Czink, in the second round of the Citi Open on Wednesday. The top seeded Russian took one hour
and 47 minutes to wrap up the three-setter at 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, booking her a berth in the quarter-final draw of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International Tour event in Washington DC, USA.
It was a see-saw battle between the two contenders but the 21-year-old Russian proved a bit too tough for Czink to bring down. Pavlyuchenkova was off to a ballistic start and absolutely manhandled her opponent in the opening set
to gain some early momentum. Her impetus was badly halted in the very next set when Czink came out with all guns firing and sparing barely two games for the Russian before claiming the second set. However, the top seed regrouped in the decisive set and got
the better of the unseeded Hungarian to register her 14th victory of the running WTA season.
It was the third time that these two went one-on-one in a singles matchup. The previous encounter took place at the clay courts of Roland Garros French Open earlier this season, with Pavlyuchenkova nailing a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, victory.
She continued with her winning trend against Czink at the Citi Open and gained a 2-1 lead in the all-time head-to-head series.
Pavlyuchenkova’s first serve included seven thudding aces and four doubles faults, while she secured 27 out of 44 points on it. Her Hungarian rival bettered her by winning 29 out of her 44 first serve points but the vital difference
lied in the number of break points being registered from both sides. Czink could strike three out of four break points while the top seeded Russian converted all of her five break opportunities to come out as the deserving winner in the end.
Up next for Pavlyuchenkova is the Taiwanese contender, Kai-Chen Chang, in the quarter-final draw of the Citi Open. Chang outplayed the unseeded Swede opponent, Johanna Larsson, in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4, in the second round to
reach the final-eight.
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