Ekaterina Makarova slays Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez to enter semis – KDB Korea Open 2012
In a battle between two left-handed contenders, eighth seeded Ekaterina Makarova destroyed the defending champion, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, with double breadsticks at the KDB Korea Open Tennis Championship 2012 on Friday. She jolted down a 6-1, 6-1 victory against 30-year-old to power into the final four at this outdoor hard court event held in South Korea.
The Russian seed unleashed her true colours after entering the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center and slaughtered Martinez Sanchez in just under an hour. After stealing the spotlight in their fourth encounter, Makarova not only extended her lead in the head-to-head series by 4-0 against the world number 93 but also secured a place in the semi-finals.
Makarova assertively entered this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International-level event. After Martinez Sanchez held her serve in the second game, the Russian went on a nine-game killing spree. She not only closed out the opening set with a breadstick but reeled off the opening four games of the following set. Makarova pocketed the last two games and ultimately sealed the deal in high spirits.
Ranked 28th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Makarova swiped her entire serves after dusting away both breakpoints she came across and cashed in five out of seven break chances to rule the battle. The Russian also took advantage of more unforced errors Martinez Sanchez spilled and fired three vicious aces to prevail. She clobbered a better first serve share of 71 per cent as compared to her rival’s 61 per cent and impressively clicked 21 out of 29 points on it.
Makarova will square off against the top seed, Caroline Wozniacki, who conquered the Czech veteran, Klara Zakopalova, in straight sets to set up this meeting. The Danish top ranked star was broken twice but capitalised on five out of eight break chances to formulate a 6-2, 6-3 success in one hour and 15 minutes.
The third seed, Kaia Kanepi, will accompany Makarova in the final four. She needed one hour and 21 minutes to formulate a 6-4, 6-4 victory against the Dutch contender, Kiki Bertens. The Estonian lost her serve twice but cashed in four out of nine break chances to prevail.
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