Jamie Hampton squeaks past Kirsten Flipkens to reach quarters – Brussels Open 2013
American challenger, Jamie Hampton, made an epic comeback from a set down to outclass the fifth seed, Kirsten Flipkens, in a three-set thriller at the Brussels Open 2013 on Thursday.
She summed up a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory against the Belgian number one to secure a spot in the final four at this WTA Premier event taking place in Brussels, Belgium.
Hampton lost her concentration in the second set and was trailing 1-5 in the final. She even faced a match point but stayed calm. As a result, the American clawed her way back in the game, consequently stealing the limelight and progressing in the last four.
The Belgian reflected after bowing out to Hampton in a post match press conference, “I should have finished it in the third. I was playing much more aggressively and coming in much better from the second set on, and I was up 5-1 in the third, and I had match
point. But I was just stressing to finish it. It hasn't happened to me a lot before, but it happens. I was just trying to give my 200% here in front of my family and friends. I wanted to win too badly today, I think.”
Ranked 68th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Hampton made a convincing start into this match. She got the early break and jumped to a 2-1 lead. Apart from losing her serve in the very next game, the American capitalised on another break chance in the fifth game
and leaped to a 4-2 lead. She held her remaining serves smoothly and clinched the opener with a 6-4 score line.
Flipkens re-focused in the following set. She smoothly slid her entire serves with conviction and got the breakthrough in the sixth game, eventually plucking the equaliser with a 6-3 success.
The 23-year-old made a drastic entry in the deciding set. She lost her opening two serves and fell at 1-5. However, Hampton stayed calm and consequently pocketed the decider with a 7-5 win.
With this victory, Hampton not only maintained her winning record against the world number 21 but also improved to a 3-0 lifetime in their head-to-head series.
Hampton will square off against second seeded Italian, Roberta Vinci, in the quarter-finals. The Italian star battled past the Kazakhstani qualifier, Yulia Putintseva, in a three-set thriller to progress. She gifted away her serve in the end of the second
set and lost it. However, Vinci rekindled her spark in the deciding set and sealed the deal with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 score line.
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