Dulko/ Pennetta battle past Shvedova/ King into title match – Toray Pan Pacific Open 2011
Second seeded duo of Argentine Gisela Dulko and Italian Flavia Pennetta bounced back from a set down as they secured a three set win over the third seeded tandem of American Vania King and Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova in their semi-final
match at the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
The 2011 Australian Open champions toiled for nearly eighty minutes as they secured a 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 win over their lower ranked opponents.
Dulko/ Pennetta opened serve in the first set. However, winning only two games on their service, the Italian Argentine duo managed to win only two games on their service as the 2010 US Open Champions, led the set 5-2, ready to
close it out and clinch a first set win. However, the set was far from over. Bouncing back, Dulko/Pennetta broke back as they reeled off two straight games to reduce the deficit to 4-5. Unfortunately, the Italian Argentine’s fight back was to no avail as King/
Shvedova served out the set to clinch a 6-4 win for themselves.
Hitting no aces with no double faults, the 2011 US Open runner ups clinched a 67 percent win on their first serve in the first set as opposed to their opponents miserable 36 percent.
Steamrollered in the first set, the Italian Argentine duo lost their steam as they got broken early on in the second set. Trailing 1-2 in the set with a break down, the match looked all over for Dulko and Pennetta. However, a stroke
of luck came their way in the sixth game as they capitalised on a break opportunity to level the scores at three games each. Holding serve in the seventh, Dulko and Pennetta broke their opponents in the eighth to serve out the set at 5-3. Securing a 6-3 win
for themselves, the Italian Argentine duo kept their chances alive at the event bringing the set score to even terms.
Entering the super tiebreaker, 2011 Australian Open champions rushed to an early 2-0 lead. However, King and Shvedova were quick to bring the score to even terms. The two teams continued to win the next two points on their service
as the scoreboard read 4-4. However, the second seeds kicked in high gear as they reeled off four straight points to lead 7-4, extending it to 9-5 moments later. Fighting to stay in the match, King and Shvedova broke back to reduce the deficit as they trailed
8-9. However, the second seeds caught a lucky break as a backhand from King went long, giving Dulko and Pennetta a 10-8 win and a berth in the final of the event.
The Italian Argentine duo now moves on to play either the top seeded pair of Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond or the fourth seeded tandem of Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko.
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