Galina Voskoboeva dispatches Vesna Dolonc to reach round two – Tashkent Open 2012
World number 77, Galina Voskoboeva, has survived one of her biggest fears at the hard courts of Uzbekistan. She defeated the 175th ranked Serb qualifier, Vesna Dolonc, in three sets 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 and advanced into the
second round of the Tashkent Open on the eve of Tuesday.
On paper, it was a straight forward draw for the 27-year-old Kazakh but the previous head-to-head was the biggest nightmare for her. She had lost two back-to-back games against the 23-year-old Serb and one of them was in the same
tournament five years ago. She was searching for her first triumph against her and the opening set loss must have enhanced her misery but the comeback was worth applause.
Voskoboeva commenced the match in commanding fashion; losing just one point on her initial serve game and continued to stamp her authority. However, the sudden turnaround in the proceedings was witnessed in the seventh game. The
Serb qualifier broke serve out of nowhere and won the first breakpoint of the match. She had to dig deep to consolidate the breakthrough but the result was in her favour. The luck continued to favour her and she managed to squeeze a second breakthrough of
the set after squandering two chances earlier in the game.
The Kazakh was under a lot of pressure and the third successive upset at the hands of the Dolonc was hanging over her head. However, she responded to the stress extremely well; beginning the second phase of the match with a double
breakthrough and mounting a stupendous lead of 5-1 with the help of the third serve hold of the set. Another breakthrough ended the set in her favour.
Stage was set for a good competitive battle but the eighth seed Kazakh professional didn’t want to waste a lot of time in rounding off the first set. She won 26 out of 35 total points contested that included three back-to-back
breakpoints; thumping her opponent to an embarrassing bagel.
Next up for the Kazakh eighth seed is the former world number five, Anna Chakvetadze, who entered the tournament through a qualifying round.
Tags: