Daniela Hantuchova bows out to Tamira Paszek in the second round brawl – AEGON International 2012
It was the second time that the world number 29, Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, has bowed out to the inferior-ranked Austrian tennis prodigy, Tamira Paszek, in a one-on-one battle. The 29-year-old Slovak veteran was stunned by
an all-round brilliant performance from Paszek in the second round of the AEGON International tournament on Wednesday. The Austrian youngster took one hour and 54 minutes to settle the three-setter at 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, to earn a spot in the quarter-final rounds
of the tournament.
Being a part of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International Tour grass-court swing, the contest was played at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club in Eastbourne, United Kingdom.
59th ranked Paszek was the underdog contestant in the match but her eye-startling game play surprised everyone present in the crowd. The 21-year-old displayed exceptional hitting throughout the competition to register
her just fourth victory of the running WTA season and attaining a 2-0 lead over the Slovakian tennis ace. She last defeated Hantuchova in 2008 at Bali, Indonesia, at the age of 17 and proved this Wednesday that it was not just a fluke.
Paszek took control of the momentum right from the beginning and came out with all guns firing. Her phenomenal serve game included 10 thudding aces and 44 out of 55 first serve points en route to victory. She converted three out
of nine break points in the contest, with the eighth seeded Slovak coming up with merely one break point to finish on the losing side in the end.
Hantuchova suffered an early blow in the opening set when the young Austrian nailed the first serve of the day in the third game to lead 2-1. Paszek sustained her lead in the rest of the games to bag the opener at 6-4, getting
1-0 up in the match.
The eighth seed stung early in the following set and her lone break point took her to 3-0 in no time. She didn’t drop her serve in the rest of the set and eventually served out of it at 5-3. It appeared as if Hantuchova is well
on course to turn the tables on the Austrian underdog but another major momentum swing just shattered all her hopes. Paszek broke her serve in the second and then in the sixth games of the final set to conclude her upset victory with a breadstick at 6-1.
Paszek will face the Bulgarian number one, Tsvetana Pironkova, in the quarter-final later this week.
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