Andrea Petkovic ousts Marion Bartoli in 3rd round – China Open 2011
Ninth seeded German Andrea Petkovic flabbergasted eighth seeded Marion Bartoli in the third round of the China Open 2011. The two players had toughed it out on outdoor hard courts of the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China.
Although, Petkovic kept the upsets coming at the prestigious Premier level tournament, it was a tad difficult to oust Bartoli. The German needed a lengthy two hours and forty six minutes to get rid of the Frenchwomen by bouncing back from a set down with a
4-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory.
Petkovic decided to serve first after winning the service toss and as she opened the initial round, she got off to an awful start as she was unable to win a game on her serve, while, Bartoli was enjoying an early break and a hold
of serve in the second game to reel off a mini lead of 2-0. However, Petkovic was not an easy opponent and made a smashing return by not only holding her serve in the third game but also by breaking Petkovic, she tied the score with 2-2.
During the fifth and the sixth games the players constantly held their serve and matched a blow for a blow to round off the score at 3-3. The toe-to-toe run carried well into the following two games and the score again evened out
at 4-4. Standing at the crossroads, either of the players could’ve tilted the match but it was a lucky break for Bartoli, who benefitted from a game to take the lead at 5-4. Bartoli was now only a game away from snatching the first set victory and as the eighth
seeded Bartoli shot a beautiful crosscourt backhand, she secured her victory of the opening set.
Opening the second round of the match was Petkovic and she again got off to a bad start as she was unable to hold serve in the first game. Nevertheless, Bartoli was leading the game with 2-0 after the second game. In the following
two games the players had held serve and the scoreboard had spun at 3-1. The German made a return in the following three games as she utilized the serve-break-serve method to round off the score at 3-3 by the end of the sixth game and by the seventh Petkovic
was now leading at 4-3.
Amidst the last three games the players broke each other back-to-back once and the Petkovic was still leading with a game by the end of the ninth game and the scoreboard had progressed at 5-4. The ninth seeded German was now only
a game away and as Bartoli double faulted on her second game, she endorsed a set victory to Petkovic.
The players had won a set apiece and opening the decisive set was Petkovic who finally was able to hold her first serve but right behind her was Bartoli, who too held a game and the scoreboard moved to 1-1 by the end of the first
two games. Not wanting Bartoli to take the competitive edge Petkovic shifted to a dominant style of play. As she used the serve-break-serve technique, she took the lead at 4-1.
By the end of the following five games the score had tied at 5-5 As Petkovic had broken Bartoli twice while the Frenchwoman was only able to break once. In the last two games Petkovic broke Bartoli for the last time to secure a
place in the quarterfinal of the event.
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