Estrella Cabeza-Candela rallies past Maria-Elana Camerin in the last eight – XXV Italiacom Open 2012
Spanish qualifier, Estrella Cabeza-Candela, laboured past the 30-year-old Italian wildcard entrant, Maria-Elana Camerin, to reach the quarter-final stage of the XXV Italiacom Open in Palermo. Final scores were 7-6(3), 7-5.
Camerin commenced the match with a serve hold and broke serve to take a lead at the start of the match. World number 162, Candela, bounced back with a breakthrough in the following game but couldn’t hold serve to level the scores;
rather trailed 1-3 in the set.
The Italian held her serve to further strengthen her position in the match; registered a resounding lead of 4-1. She broke serve to power down her rival to a trail of 1-5. She just had to hold serve and take the first set away.
However, a tremendous comeback witnessed a roaring crowd shut to a pin drop silence in the arena.
Candela broke serve in a ‘do or die’ game and kept the set alive. She held serve after a tight battle to lower the trail further. She won another breakpoint on the trot to build up a strong momentum and keep her chances alive in
the opening a set; followed it up with a stunning serve hold to tie the scores and complete a stupendous comeback to deny the Italian from running away with a show.
Both players traded breakpoints in the following games to enforce the tie-breaker round into play. After a hard fought battle, the superior ranked Spanish qualifier stunned everyone by winning the first set and registering the
most spectacular comeback of the tournament.
Camerin was still in shock and couldn’t concentrate in the second set at all. She was in disbelief on her first set loss and dropped the opening serve game in the process. An exchange of breakthroughs pushed the scores to 3-1 in
favour of the Spaniard.
World number 196, Camerin, regrouped in the break between the games and came back as a stronger contender; winning a breakthrough in the seventh game and followed it up with a supreme serve hold to bring the scores together at
4-4.
Both players held serves in the following three games of the match that posted the scores of 6-5 in favour of the Spaniard. A sudden outbreak in the final game of the match witnessed three blistering winners from the Spaniard who
confirmed her place in the last eight.
Next up for Candela is the Romanian starlet, Irina-Camelia Begu.
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