Daniela Hantuchova strains past Melinda Czink to reach the quarters – Bell Challenge 2011
World number 25, Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, had to go through some tough channels before she finally clinched victory against the unseeded Hungarian, Melinda Czink, in the second round of the Bell Challenge on Thursday night.
It was an enthralling three-setter, which lasted for two hours and thirty six minutes of play, with the top seeded Slovak winning at 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3, in the end. The contest was played on the indoor hard courts of Quebec, Canada and Hantuchova displayed her vintage class to book a berth in the quarter-finals of the $220,000 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tournament.
Hantuchova finally avenged her defeat she suffered at the hands of Czink in 2006 in Bali, levelling the head-to-head series against the Hungarian at 1-1. The top seeded Slovak dropped the opening set early after a thrilling contest with Czink but recovered very well in the following sets to turn the tables on the unseeded Hungarian.
Czink dropped serve in her very first game of the match but paid back to her opponent in the seventh game to come on even terms with her. A further exchange of two serve breaks each was seen from the two contestants in the opening set, taking the scores to 6-6 and enforcing a tie breaker round. The top seed collapsed in the decider and let a vital mini-break to Czink, who wrapped up the first set at 7-6(4).
The unseeded Hungarian then went through a terrible slump in the next two sets, coughing a total of eight double faults and a number of unforced errors to let her opponent away with a convincing victory in the end. Hantuchova nailed four serve breaks in the last two sets to finish off the match and earned a place in the quarter-finals of the Bell Challenge to face the Kiwi competitor, Marina Erakovic, for a berth in the semis. Erakovic upset the seventh seed American, Irina Falconi, in the second round to meet Hantuchova.
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