Henin and Tipsarevic in Den Bosch Open final Stosur eliminated in Eastbourne
Justine Henin kept her good form continuing when she reached the final of Den Bosch Open final in Netherlands just before the Wimbledon. Den Bosch Open is considered as a prelude to Wimbledon and Henin will be going to Wimbledon in full practise and form as she produced another formidable performance.
Henin defeated Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru to reach the final. She defeated the 5th seed with the score of 6-2, 6-2. Belgian Henin started the match strongly as she broke Dulgheru in the 5th game of the opening set to take 3-2 lead. She broke her again in 7th game and held her serve in subsequent game to seal the set. The second set received the same fate as Henin broke Dulgheru’s serve twice to wrap up not only the set but also the match. Henin has not lost a single set in the tournament, her first grass surface tournament since she came back from international retirement 20 months ago. Henin will now meet Andrea Petkovic in the final. German Petkovic continued her winning form when she defeated Henin’s compatriot Kirsten Flipkens to reach final. 7th seed Petkovic defeated Flipkens in a three set gruelling match with the score of 6-7(3), 7-6(2) and 6-4. After losing the opening set to Belgian Flipkens, Petkovic fought back in a second set. Both players showed some fighting spirit as they took the set to tie-breaker which Petkovic won easily to seal the second set. Petkovic kept the momentum going in the third set when she broke Flipken’s serve to seal the match in two hours and thirty-five minutes.
On the other hand, in men’s action, Serbian Janko Tipsarevic sealed his place in Den Bosch’s final when he defeated defending champion Benjamin Becker. 7th seed Tipsarevic defeated 8th seed German Becker with the score of 6-7, 6-3 and 6-4 in a rain interrupted match. Son of former tennis legend Boris Becker, Benjamin Becker started the match in a confident fashion as he won the opening set against Serbian Tipsarevic. After rain interruption, Becker lost the initiative and allowed Serbian Tipsarevic back in the match. After winning the second set, Tipsarevic kept his momentum going and sealed the match when he won the third set convincingly. Tipsarevic will now face un-seeded Sergiy Stakhovsky in the final. Ukraine’s Stakhovsky beat Belgium’s Xavier Malisse to reach his first final. Stakhovsky reached the final when he beat Malisse in straight sets with the score of 6-3 and 6-4.
Meanwhile, Russian qualifier Ekaterina Makarova and un-seeded Victoria Azarenka will meet in the final of Eastbourne final. Both players reached the final after upsetting their rivals in shock semi-final wins. Makarova defeated Roland Garros runners-up Samantha Stosur with the score of 7-6 and 7-5. It was an upset of ultimate proportion as Makarova is ranked 100 and Stosur is third seed. Despite losing the match eventually, Australian Stosur fought bravely throughout the match. She fired six aces and saved five of eight break points. She may be out of Eastbourne but the Australian Stosur will be going to Wimbledon with full confidence where she will face Estonian Kaia Kanepi in the first round, as she showed some breathtaking performances in Eastbourne. On the other hand, Makarova kept on improving her credentials of beating big players in big matches. 22- year old Russian Makarova earlier defeated 2005 champion and former World Number 1 Kim Clijsters of Belgium in quarter-finals. She will now meet Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in final. Like Makarova, Azarenka also defeated big name in form of 8th seed Marion Bartoli of France. Azarenka won the match with the score of 6-3, 7-5.
Azarenka dominated the proceedings from the start as she broke French Bartoli twice in the opening set to take 1- 0 set lead. She needed one break in second set to book her place in final and she got that easily as Bartoli committed too many unforced errors. 2009 Miami winner Azarenka will be playing in her second final after she was runner-up to former World Number 1 Venus Williams in Dubai earlier this year.
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