Flavia Pennetta outfoxes Sofia Arvidsson to reach quarters – Abierto Mexicano Telcel 2012
Second seeded Flavia Pennetta survived the scare by overpowering Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden in a three set nail-biter at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel 2012 on Wednesday. She nudged up a 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 victory over the 28-year-old to advance onto the final eight at this clay court tournament held in Acapulco, Mexico.
The former top 10 lifted her game in the second set tie-breaker and then kept her rhythm to outgun Arvidsson in their second meeting. As a result, the highly energetic Italian extended her lead in the head-to-head series by 2-0 against the Swede. In their previous meeting at the Fed Cup nine years ago, Pennetta slaughtered Arvidsson with a bagel.
"Sofia was playing really aggressively from the start," said the delighted Italian in a post-match conference. "I was really nervous from the beginning and felt like I was being pushed back to the baseline all the time. She was ahead so many times but each time I played much better and more aggressively. I'm so happy to get through this match tonight. It was a really tough match but really amazing at the same time.”
The world number 55, Arvidsson, blasted massive forehands to wipe out the opening three games of the match successively with two breaks of serve. Apart from losing her serve in the fourth game, the Swede capitalised on another break opportunity in the seventh game and clinched the opener with a 6-2 score line.
Currently ranked 29th in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Rankings, Pennetta got back in action in the follow-up set. She jumped to a 3-0 lead after getting the desiderated break in the second game. Despite losing her proceeding two serves, she recovered again in the eighth game. However, she exchanged serve breaks in the following four games and took the set to a tie-breaker. The Italian dominated in it and clinched the set with a 7-6(5) score line.
Pennetta found her rhythm in the final set and conquered her rival with a breadstick. After Arvidsson held her serve in the opening game, the Italian went on a five games rampage and registered a superb 6-1 score line.
"I have no idea what time it is now. I'm just going to try to recover for tomorrow. I don't know when I'm playing," the exhausted Pennetta was quoted further.
Next up for the second seed is the Colombian qualifier, Mariana Duque-Marino who upset the sixth seed, Johanna Larsson, in three sets to secure this position.
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