Bratchikova/Kalashnikova oust Glushko/Lertcheewakarn to grab title – Royal Indian Open 2012
Russian-Georgian duo, Nina Bratchikova and Oksana Kalashnikova, rallied past the fourth seeds, Israel’s Julia Glushko and Thailand’s Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, in a three-set thriller at the Royal Indian Open 2012 on Saturday. They summed up a 6-0, 4-6, 10-8
victory against their rivals to grab their maiden title together at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) 125 event taking place in Pune, India.
Seeded second in this tournament, Bratchikova and Kalashnikova, showed brilliant co-ordination throughout the week, eventually claiming the crown at this outdoor hard court event. She stole the show after prevailing at this one hour and 12-minute marathon.
The higher seeds went berserk after entering the Balewadi Sports Complex. They unleashed barrage of powerful forehands to reel off six games in a row. Bratchikova and Kalashnikova were never threatened with any barrier and cashed all three break chances
to pull out the opener with a bagel.
The Israeli-Thai tandem re-focused in the following set. They endured the initial shock in the opening game and went 0-2 down. However, Glushko and Lertcheewakarn not only recovered in the eighth game but got the breakthrough in the last game, eventually
sealing the equaliser with a 6-4 success. They brilliantly brushed off four out of five breakpoints they faced and capitalised on two out of three break chances to get back in action.
In the final set or super tie-breaker, the higher ranked junction sought their early ascendancy and rhythm. They cruised to a 6-1 lead before carving out the decider with a 10-8 score line.
Summing up the second seeds’ performance, Bratchikova and Kalashnikova committed fewer unforced errors and no double faults. They clobbered a slightly lower first serve share of 65 per cent as compared to their rivals’ 68 per cent and impressively availed
23 out of 36 points on it. They found eight break opportunities to prevail and ended the battle with 62 points.
The Russian-Georgian tandem reached this final spot without losing a set. They trashed the Indian duo, Rutuja Bhosale and Prarthana Thombare, in straight sets in their opening match. The in-form junction then dumped the Ukrainians, Olga Savchuk and Elina
Svitolina, with a 7-5, 6-2 score line to reach semis.
In the final four, Bratchikova and Kalashnikov overpowered the Chinese duo, Yi-Fan Xu and Yi-Miao Zhou, in straight sets to set up this final battle.
Tags: