Johanna Larsson fires back at Sesil Karatantcheva in opening round – Abierto Mexicano Telcel 2012
Sixth seeded Johanna Larsson bounced back at the Kazakhstani qualifier, Sesil Karatantcheva, in three sets at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel 2012 on Tuesday. She refocused after the opening set to register a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory in the round of 32 at this
clay court tournament held in Acapulco, Mexico.
The 23-year-old played her best tennis at the Fairmont Acapulco Princess. After suffering a disappointing 1-6 defeat in the opening set, she turned the tides towards her favour and ousted the Kazakh in their second meeting.
The contestants previously met each other at the qualifying competition of the Wimbledon Championships two years ago and after earning this success, the Swede not only avenged her defeat but also secured a place in the second round.
A former world number 35, Karatantcheva, flashed her old self in the opening set. She hammered powerful forehands and backhands to wipe out the opening four games successively. Apart from losing her serve in the fifth game, she broke the Swede’s serve once
more and ultimately pulled out the breadstick.
Ranked 67th in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Rankings, Larsson hit back with a fitting reply. She leaped to a 2-0 lead after getting the desiderated break in the second game. She stayed firm in the set and after exchanging three
serve breaks, the Swede equalised the set scores.
Larsson lost her track once more in the final set and gifted away her serve in the opening game. However, she held her composure and went 3-1 up with two breaks of serve. The higher ranked then exchanged two serve breaks and consequently sealed the decider
with a 6-3 win.
All in all, the seed fully capitalised on the several unforced errors and 18 double faults Karatantcheva committed. She also formulated a better first serve share and acceptably marked 26 out of 56 points on it. The Swede also manipulated 17 break opportunities
and cashed in nine of them.
Next in line for Larsson is the Colombian qualifier, Mariana Duque-Marino, who devastated the local wild card entrant, Nadia Abdala, with a bagel and a breadstick to occupy this spot.
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