Andrea Petkovic crushes Carla Suarez Navarro in 2nd round – China Open 2011
Ninth seeded Andrea Petkovic defeated qualifier Carla Suarez Navarro in a double 6-4 victory during the second round of the China Open 2011. The players had battled for one hour and thirty seven minutes on outdoor hard courts of
the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China.
The Spaniard Navarro was first to open the set, after subsequently winning the pitch. The two challengers kept pace and trailing behind each other they successfully placed themselves on the scoreboard at 1-1. In the following two
games, first to break was Petkovic but not wanting to be left out Navarro quickly broke back immediately in the subsequent game and again tied the score at 2-2.
During the third and the fourth game the players expertly won on alternate serves and the scoreboard was rolled at 3-3. Again breaking each other back to back in the seventh and the eighth game, the score rounded off at 4-4. However,
in the last two games Petkovic capitalized on a crucial breakpoint and as she held serve in the tenth game, she accomplished the opening set with a 6-4 victory.
Petkovic had targeted 73 percent of her first serves and won 58 percent of her first serve by doing so she clogged the opening set with a difference of four more points than Navarro’s.
The second set was also opened by Navarro but this time she got off to a bad start and lost her first service game by double faulting on her second serve. While, Petkovic had not only been gifted a game from the Espanola but as
she skilfully held serve in the second game, she was leading on the scoreboard with a 2-0.
She further increased the gap by capitalizing on another break point against Navarro and was now leading with a 3-0. However, it wasn’t long and Navarro made a return by breaking back immediately in the next game and as she held
serve, the deficit had reduced to 2-3. In the following two games the players won on alternate games and the scoreboard progressed to 3-4.
The score was tied at 4-4 as Navarro also capitalized on her second break but Petkovic was in no mood of a cat and mouse chase and broke back in the ninth game and again took a mini lead. As Petkovic served for the match in the
tenth game, she smashed a couple of backhand winners down the line and secured another 6-4 victory of the set and the match.
Next up for the German is the eighth seeded Frenchwomen Marion Bartoli.
Tags: