Anastasia Rodionova dumps Evgeniya Rodina in the qualifiers – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Seeded 16th in the qualifiers, Anastasia Rodionova eased past the Russian starlet, Evgeniya Rodina, in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Open 2012 on Monday. She formulated a 6-2, 7-5 victory over the 23-year-old to reach the final qualifying round at this hard court tournament taking place in Indian Wells, United States.
The Russian-born Rodionova put up a brilliant show of tennis to outclass Rodina in their second outing at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Mandatory event. She not only avenged her loss at the Moscow WTA event three years ago but also advanced inched closer towards the main draw of this prestigious event.
Ranked 101st in the WTA Premier Rankings, Rodionova went berserk in the opening round at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and swiped in the opening three games successively with two breaks of serve. Regardless of losing her serve in the fifth game, she converted another break chance to her advantage in the seventh game and clinched the opener with a 6-2 score line.
The Australian veteran carried her rhythm in the follow-up set and took a 3-2 lead after earning the desiderated break in the fifth game. She then exchanged two serve breaks and subsequently bagged the set with a 7-5 win.
Summing up the 16th seed’s performance in this hour and 14-minutes long marathon, Rodionova cashed in all six break opportunities to earn the limelight. She also manifested an almost equal first serve share of 58 percent and amazingly availed 24 out of 33 points on it.
The high flying Aussie will square off against the sixth seed, Aleksandra Wozniak, who stomped over Heather Watson in straight sets to advance in this event. The Canadian showed tremendous defensive skills as she warded off 12 out of 14 breakpoints she faced. Wozniak converted four out of nine break chances to seal the deal with a 6-4, 6-4 success.
The fourth seed, Anna Tatishvili, faced a different fortune as she bowed out to Japan’s Misaki Doi in straight sets earlier that day. The Georgian broke her rival’s serve four times but lost her serves six times, eventually bearing a 3-6, 4-6 shock in 72-minutes. She also committed more unforced errors and registered 16 out of 30 points on her first serve share.
The 20-year-old on the other hand advanced to confront Rodionova’s compatriot, Casey Dellacqua. The 20th seeded Aussie crippled the British tennis starlet, Laura Robson, with a breadstick to set-up this date.
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