Garbine Muguruza Blanco upsets Anna Tatishvili to enter round two – Fes WTA 2012
Spanish qualifier, Garbine Muguruza Blanco, rallied past the Georgian tennis star, Anna Tatishvili, in a three set thriller at the Grand Prix De SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem 2012 on Tuesday. She summed up a 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 success against the 22-year-old
to book a place in the round of 16 at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International-level tournament taking place in Fes, Morocco.
The Spanish teenager displayed spectacular skills to stun Tatishvili in two hours and 40 minutes. She lost her track in the second set but unleashed her true colours again in the decider, ultimately taking a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head series against the
world number 83.
Blanco made a nervy entry at the Royal Tennis Club de Fes and suffered the first blow in the opening game. She recovered in the very next game but after losing her serve again in the fifth game, the Spaniard fell at 2-4. Despite recovering in the eighth
game, she lost her serve again in the proceeding game, consequently going 4-5 down. However, the Spanish youngster wiped out the last three games in a row and clinched the opener with a 7-5 score line.
The American resident on the other side rebounded in the second set and earned the desiderated break in the opening game to take the initial lead. Regardless of losing the successive three games, Tatishvili remained focused and recovered in the fifth game.
She continued hammering powerful forehands and after exchanging a serve break, the Georgian got the breakthrough in the 11th game. Tatishvili held her serve once more and bagged the equaliser by winning seven games to five.
Ranked 139th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Blanco failed to seek her momentum in the final set and fell at 0-3 after losing her serve twice. However, she made a fitting counterattack and stroke out the following four games successively before the
Georgian could hold on again. The Spaniard plucked the last two games and sealed the decider with a 6-4 win.
Next challenge for the 18-year-old is Austria’s Patricia Mayr-Achleitner who stunned the fourth seed, Yanina Wickmayer, in straight sets to set-up this date.
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