Erika Sema plonks Irena Pavlovic to clear first qualifier - Guangzhou Int’l Women's Open 2012
World number 128, Erika Sema, advanced into the second qualifying round of the GRC Bank Guangzhou International Women's Open after the premature retirement from the 145th ranked French age-fellow, Irena Pavlovic.
At the end of the second set when the scores were 3-6, 6-1 with Sema winning the first and her opponent clobbering the second, the French decided to pull out of the encounter due to an injury. It was a sad ending to a classic encounter
that witnessed a tough fight between the two contestants for almost an hour and 24 minutes.
The 23-year-old Japanese won four points on the trot to begin the match in emphatic fashion. She carried the momentum into the second game and won the first breakpoint of the match. However, the French fought back into the contest
in the third game of the match; winning the breakthrough and decreasing the trail to 1-2. She was tested rigorously on her serve but did well to survive the onslaught and register a serve hold to equalize the scores at 2-2.
Both players capitalized on their serves to make it 3-3. However, the most awaited breakpoint arrived in the seventh game when the French broke serve to take a lead of 4-3. She consolidated her position with a serve hold and made
it mandatory for her opponent to hold her serve in order to stay alive in the set. Sema couldn’t handle the pressure of the vital game and lost the first set with a disappointing score line after such a cracking start.
Pavlovic started facing fitness problems from the start of the second set. However, she decided to continue playing through pain but it proved to be a very bad idea in the end. She lost two breakpoints in a row and couldn’t test
her opponent at all in the return games; drowning to a trail of 0-4. Soon, the set was over for the 23-year-old French who lost another breakpoint in the seventh game.
After consulting with her physio, Pavlovic decided to shake hands with her opponent and allow her a walkover into the second qualifier where she faces Yue-Yue Hu.
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