Elena Vesnina shocks Marina Erakovic to reach final showdown – Budapest Grand Prix 2012
Russian star, Elena Vesnina, outshined the fifth seeded Kiwi, Marina Erakovic, in straight sets at the Budapest Grand Prix 2012 on Friday. She penned down a 6-2, 6-4 victory against the world number 45 to cruise into the final round at this outdoor clay
court event which is part of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Tour 2012.
Vesnina ruled throughout the one hour and 36-minute battle, eventually carving out the victory in their fourth outing. After earning this limelight, the Russian not only avenged her loss at the Carlsbad WTA event last season but also levelled the head-to-head
series by 2-2 against Erakovic.
"In our previous encounters, Marina played more aggressive," the Russian commented in a court-side interview. "Today she was trying to exploit my mistakes and move me around and play the spin. I didn't expect that but luckily I still found the key to win."
The 25-year-old made a sluggish start at this WTA International-level tournament and suffered the first blow in the opening game to go 0-1 down. However, she quickly recovered in the very next game and held her nerves after that. Vesnina stroke out the last
four games in a row and clinched the opener with a 6-2 score line.
Ranked 78th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Vesnina kept momentum floating in the second set and held her entire serves after fending off all three breakpoints she faced. The Russian got the breakthrough in the last game by capitalising on one out
of two break chances and sealed the set with a 6-4 win.
Vesnina commented further, "In the second set, we both played more rallies and longer games. There were some weird bounces, maybe by the breeze coming from the river, and I lost some concentration. But, then, I recovered and managed to win the match."
The high flying Russian will square off against the top seed, Sara Errani, in the title-round. The Italian ace brushed off both breakpoints she came across and cashed in five out of seven break chances to formulate a 6-2, 6-1 victory in 62 minutes. She produced
a better first serve share and amazingly clicked 27 out of 39 points on it.
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