Carla Suarez Navarro upsets Klara Zakopalova to reach quarters – Open GDF Suez 2013
Spanish contender, Carla Suarez Navarro, stunned the eighth seed, Klara Zakopalova, in straight sets at the Open GDF Suez 2013 on Thursday. She nudged up a 6-4, 6-3 victory against the Czech to power into the quarter-finals at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier event taking place in Paris, France.
The underdog displayed exceptional skills to shock Zakopalova in their fourth meeting. The players last fought each other in Marbella four years ago and after recording this victory, Suarez Navarro levelled the head-to-head series by 2-2 against the 30-year-old.
"Klara is a tough opponent. I knew I had to play well if I wanted to beat her today," stated the Spaniard in a courtside interview after pocketing the match.
Suarez Navarro made a drastic entry at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. She suffered the first blow in the opening game and went 0-2 down. The Spaniard recovered in the fourth game but lost her edge again, eventually falling at 2-4. However, Suarez Navarro then unleashed her barrage of groundstrokes and reeled off four games in a row.
Ranked 31st in the WTA Premier Rankings, Suarez Navarro repeated her ways in the proceeding set and lost her serve in the opening game. However, she reeled off proceeding three games and took a 3-1 lead. Despite losing her edge in the very next game, the Spaniard got the breakthrough in the eighth game and eventually clinched the set with a 6-3 score line.
Suarez Navarro will next face the top seeded Italian, Sara Errani. The Spaniard recorded the biggest upset at the Australian Open by shocking seventh seeded Errani and will get a chance to that again here.
The Italian number one, who overpowered ill Magdalena Rybarikova, reflected about her next match-up:
"I didn't know my opponent was sick, but I hope she recovers soon. The next match is going to be interesting because I know Carla very well and she beat me at the Australian Open. I like this surface and I just want to keep playing my game, and we will see how it goes tomorrow."
The 24-year-old Spaniard is looking forward to capture her maiden career title at this hard court event.
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