Ekaterina Ivanova flabbergasts Anastasia Rodionova in 2nd qualifying round – Kremlin Cup 2011
Sixth seeded Austrian Anastasia Rodionova lost to unseeded Russian Ekaterina Ivanova in the second qualifying round of the Kremlin Cup 2011. The two contenders took up the gauntlet on indoor hard courts of the Olympic Stadium,
Moscow. After one hour and fifty four minutes the unseeded Russian Ivanova got rid of the sixth seeded Austrian by bouncing back from a set down to score a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on Sunday the 16th of October.
Initiating the first set of the match was Ivanova and she got off to a great start by holding her service game and then breaking her adversary in the second game to reel off with a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard. The two players then
broke each other back-to-back twice in the following four games and the scoreboard had progressed to a 4-2 with Ivanova leading. During the last three games the Russian and the Austrian held serve and in doing so; Ivanova conquered the opening set.
The second set of the match was commenced by Rodionova and in the first two games the players broke each other back-to-back and the scoreboard had rotated to a 1-1. As the players held serve in the following two games the scoreboard
again levelled at 2-2. However, in the fifth game Rodionova capitalized on a break and then held her serve to take a lead of 5-2 on the scoreboard.
During the last two games both the players held serve and in doing so, it was Rodionova who clogged away with the second set by restricting her adversary to only three games out of the nine played.
By the end of the first two sets each player had bagged a set and opening the decisive set was Ivanova but she was unable to hold her serve. However, she was quick to break her adversary in the second game and tie the score at
1-1. During the following two games each challenger won on alternate service games and by the end of the fourth game the score had tied at 2-2.
Amidst the fifth game, Ivanova held her serve and in the sixth as Rodionova had double faulted on her serve, Ivanova took t he lead by capitalizing on the breakpoint. By the end of the sixth game the score was 4-2 with Ivanova
leading the set. During the last two games the players won on alternate games and in doing so; Ivanova had sealed her victory of the set and the match.
The unseeded Russian will now be facing Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko in the final qualifying round of the event.
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