Christina McHale hits back to outfox Misaki Doi in round two – Mercury Insurance Open 2012
Fifth seed, Christina McHale, came from behind to overpower the Japanese challenger, Misaki Doi, in a three-set nail-biter at the Mercury Insurance Open 2012 on Thursday. She manipulated a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory against the 21-year-old to book a place in the quarter-finals at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier event taking place in San Diego, California.
The local seed, McHale, made a poor start at this outdoor hard court tournament but remained focused to carve out the victory in two hours and 53 minutes. The players last met each other at the Bank of the West Classic two years ago and after bagging this match, McHale improved to a 2-0 lifetime in the head-to-head series against the Japanese.
The left-hander Japanese assertively entered the La Costa Resort and Spa and plucked her opening serve with conviction. She held her remaining serves until she drew the first blood in the eighth game. Despite squandering her edge in the very next game, Doi broke her rival’s serve once again and clicked the opener by winning six games to four. The Japanese sought 11 break opportunities out of which she availed two to her advantage.
McHale re-focused in the follow-up set and earned the coveted break in the third game to jump to a 3-1 lead. Apart from levelling the scores in the sixth game, the American remained calm and got the breakthrough in the ninth game, eventually sealing the equaliser with a 6-4 win.
Ranked 27th in the WTA Premier Rankings, McHale kept momentum flowing in the final set which matter the most. She got the desiderated break in the third game after cashing in the lone break chance and jumped to a 3-1 lead. The American dusted away all three breakpoints she faced and clicked the decider with a 6-4 success.
The Teaneck native brushed off 16 out of 19 breakpoints she faced and converted four out of six break chances to her advantage.
"Wow, I didn't know that statistic," McHale reflected. "Going into my next match I'm going to have to serve a lot better, but I'm just happy I found a way to pull it out. And I have to give credit to Misaki - she played really well."
Next challenge for McHale is top seeded Marion Bartoli who battled past the local challenger, Vania King, in a three-set nail-biter to set up this epic encounter. Bartoli dusted away 12 out of 20 breakpoints she encountered and cashed in nine out of 15 break opportunities.
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