Arina Rodionova stuns Mathilde Johansson to enter main draw – Fes WTA 2012
Russian starlet, Arina Rodionova, bounces back to upset the qualifying third seed, Mathilde Johansson, in a three set thriller at the Grand Prix De SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem 2012 on Monday. She nudged up a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory against the world number 108 to power into the main draw of this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International tournament held in Fes, Morocco.
With an immaculate display of power tennis, Rodionova outfoxed the French in their first encounter. After bagging the match in two hours and 33 minutes, the Russian comfortably advanced into the first round where she will confront the Swiss challenger, Timea Bacsinszky.
The Swedish-born Johansson made a sluggish start at the Royal Tennis Club de Fes and suffered the first blow in the opening game. However, she remained focused and not only recovered in the sixth game but cashed in her second break opportunity in the last game to seal the opener with a 7-5 win.
Ranked 246th in the WTA Premier Ranking, Rodionova made a fitting reply in the second set and earned the coveted break in the third game to leap at 3-1. Despite losing her edge in the sixth game, the Russian broke her French rival’s serve again in the ninth game, eventually pulling out the equaliser with a 6-4 score line.
The match could have gone in any direction at that point but the high-flying Russian unleashed her true colours and carved out the victory with a 6-3 score line. She lost her serve twice early on and went 1-3 down. However, Rodionova blasted powerful groundstrokes to go on a five-game killing spree.
All in all, both contestants spilled several errors but Rodionova edged past her opponent after capitalising on seven out of 11 break opportunities. She also warded off seven out of 12 breakpoints she encountered and produced an amazing first serve share of 69 per cent as opposed to Johansson’s 60 per cent.
The qualifying second seed, Melinda Czink, faced a better fortune later that day. She crushed Russia’s Ekaterina Ivanova, with a bagel in one hour and nine minutes to enter the main draw.
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