Angelique Kerber overwhelms Anastasia Rodionova in the opener – Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2012
World number 11, Angelique Kerber of Germany, continued her blistering run of form at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, ousting the 30-year-old Australian veteran, Anastasia Rodionova, in the opening round on Monday. The 12th seed German went through a two hour and 18-minute brawl before settling the three-setter at 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, to reach the round of 32 at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier 5 event being played in Rome, Italy.
The 12th seed German used her serve as the primary weapon of destruction, belting 67 per cent of it on target and winning 44 out of 70 first serve points in the contest. She crafted 13 break opportunities and converted seven of them to turn the tables on the Aussie veteran, who cashed in five out of 14 break points in the match to finish on the losing side in the end.
"It was very tough conditions because some of the court had shadows, some was sunny, and it was windy," Kerber said. "And Anastasia played very well - I was just thinking to fight and play point by point, and I'm very happy I won. I love playing on red clay. I grew up on it. Last week the blue clay in Madrid wasn't so bad, I made the third round, but it's good to be back on red!"
Rodionova got hold of the moment earlier in the match and came up with two cracking break points right up to get into a 5-3 lead in the opener. She served out of the set at 5-4 to get one up but an all-round onslaught from the German diva in the following set pushed her on the back foot. Kerber nailed three break points to seal the second set at 7-5 and carried on with her winning impetus in the decisive set as well. She stung three more serve breaks to conclude her emphatic victory at 6-2, marching in to the second round of the Rome Masters in style.
The 24-year-old had defeated Rodionova in the second round of the 2007 Cincinnati Masters and her Monday’s victory took her to 2-0 in the all-time head-head series against the Aussie. Kerber is enjoying the form of her life this circuit and has already two WTA championship titles to get on the brink of the Top-10 among women. She is now 29-9 this season and is rated among the hot favourites for winning the Rome masters title this time round.
Kerber will face the unseeded American contender, Vania King, in the second round of the tournament. King was successful against Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-0, 6-1, in the opening round draw.
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