Daria Gavrilova tramples Kristina Kucova in 2nd round – Slovak Open 2011
Russian qualifier Daria Gavrilova wipes out unseeded Slovak Kristina Kucova in the second round of the Slovak Open 2011.
The two players battled it out against each other in Bratislava, Slovakia on indoor hard courts of the Národné Tenisové Centrum. After one hour and fifty four minutes the Russian got rid of the home-girl in straight sets of 6-3, 7-5.
Although both the sets were won by Gavrilova, the first set was a lopsided victory.
Gavrilova won the service toss and had decided to open the initial round of the match. She had to battle a few deuces before she could hold her service game and commence the scoreboard at 1-0. Trailing behind was Kucova and she too held respective serves
and placed herself on the scoreboard at 1-1.
Subsequently, in the next four games the players held their service games and the score had equalized at three games each by the end of the sixth game. However, in the seventh game Gavrilova held her respective serve by warding off her opponent, she then
capitalized on a breakpoint in the eighth game. As she served for the set, she smashed a beautiful forehand winner to go one up in the match.
After taking a beating in the opening set, Kucova pulled up her socks and took a notch higher in her performance but she was still unable to muster the numbers.
The second set of the match was initiated by Kucova and this time she took two consecutive games to take a mini lead on the scoreboard. In subsequent two games, the players bartered in breaks and the score had progressed to 3-1 at the end of the fourth game
with Kucova leading the match.
During the following four games the players matched a blow for a blow and the score progressed on even terms as the two held their respective serves. It was extremely unfortunate for Kucova as she was unable to close the set in the following three games.
However in a reversal of fortune, Kucova double faulted on her second serve in the ninth game while, Gavrilova managed to completely mitigate the deficit by equalizing the score at five games each. She then struck a pot of gold as she broke her adversary
for the last time in the eleventh game. As she served for the match, she smashed a wonderful backhand winner down the T to secure her victory of the match.
The Russian was able to reserve a berth in the quarterfinal of the even where she will be facing the third seeded Hungarian
Timea Babos.
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