Andrea Petkovic, Mathilde Johansson move into the third round – Wimbledon Championships 2011
Rising German tennis star Andrea Petkovic battled past Stephanie Dubois of Canada 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 on Wednesday to make it to the third round of 2011 Wimbledon Championships in United Kingdom. The number eleven seed started well
taking the opening in just 36 minutes. She lost her way in the second set but came back strongly in the decider to avoid a major upset.
Petkovic has been in decent form over the last few months. Following her incredible run on the Women’s Tennis Association tour, she rose to world number eleven in the rankings. Reaching quarterfinals of both Australian Open and
Roland Garros in 2011, she has improved her game play significantly. She will be eyeing another strong performance on the grass courts of All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to lift the first grand slam title of her career.
Looking for a place in the third round of the championships, Petkovic made a tentative start to the match. Her first serve was only a mere 52 per cent in the opening set. However, as the match progressed, she started to execute
her forehand and backhand shots a lot better. Playing the big points exceptionally well, she clinched the opener 6-3. Dubois put up a good fight but she wasted certain chances and let the German dominate the contest.
Working hard to force the match into the final set, Dubois broke the serve twice in the second set to shift the balance. Hitting fifteen forehand and backhand winners in the set, she pressurised Petkovic with every available opportunity.
The finals set was played on an extremely competitive note as both players exchanged serve breaks. Petkovic executed her game plan to perfection as she hit 15 winners in the set. Dubois could not handle the pressure and managed
to win only three out of right points on her second serve. Dashing a big forehand winner down the line, the German made two match points available to her and then converted the first one to end the match that lasted for more than two hours.
Frenchwoman Mathilde Johansson also made it to the third round with a stunning 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Brit Heather Watson.
Johansson made a very slow start to the match committing 8 unforced errors in the opening set. Watson grabbed opportunities with both hands and made her pay heavily by taking the set score lead 1-0.
However, the Frenchwoman regrouped herself afterwards and displayed some classy tennis to win the next two sets. She was brave enough to come close to the net making her intensions very clear. Breaking the serve at regular intervals,
she managed to turn things around. Converting the very first match point on her serve, she secured an emphatic victory.
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