Ekaterina Makarova trounces Jamie Hampton in round two – KDB Korea Open 2012
Eighth seed, Ekaterina Makarova, tumbled the American qualifier, Jamie Hampton, in straight sets at the KDB Korea Open Tennis Champion 2012 on Thursday. She nudged up a 6-3, 7-5 success over the world number 99 to power into the quarter-finals at the Seoul
Olympic Park Tennis Center in South Korea.
The left-hander from Russia displayed brilliant tennis to outsmart Hampton in their first encounter. After recording the victory in one hour and 39 minutes, she booked a spot in the final eight at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International event.
Makarova enthusiastically entered this outdoor hard court event. She exchanged a serve break and levelled the scores in the sixth game. However, the Russian then unleashed her skills and wiped out the last three games, eventually sealing the opener by winning
six games to three. She amazingly blocked three out of four breakpoints she faced and capitalised on three out of five break chances to inch towards the glory.
Ranked 28th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Makarova kept momentum sailing into the second set. She fired angled shots down the line and kept her entire serves. The Russian got the breakthrough in the last game and clinched the set with a 7-5 score
line. Makarova brilliantly sent off all three breakpoints she faced and converted one out of four break chances to her advantage.
All in all, Makarova produced a lower first serve share of 52 per cent in contrast with the Russian’s 57 per cent but impressively clicked 26 out of 36 points on it. She also hammered five aces and ended the match with 83 points.
The seeded Russian will face off the defending champion, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez form Spain. The Spanish veteran received walkover against fourth seeded Nadia Petrova to set up this clash.
Seeded sixth in this event, Varvara Lepchenko from United States will accompany Makarova in the last eight. She crippled the Spanish number one, Anabel Medina Garrigues, with a breadstick in one hour and 17 minutes.
Lepchenko will next face the Austrian challenger, Tamira Paszek, who crushed the local wild card entrant, So-Ra Lee, with a bagel to progress.
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