Kaia Kanepi defeats Marta Domachowska; cruises into the main draw of the Brussels Ladies Open
Qualifying top seed Kaia Kanepi from Estonia warded off early resistance from Polish Marta Domachowska to advance into the main draw of the 2011 Open de Bruxelles, a clay court tournament held in Brussels, Belgium. She registered
a 7-6(5), 6-3 victory over world number 238, Polish star on Monday.
Ranked 16th in the Sony Ericsson WTA Premier rankings, Kanepi showed exceptional skills at Paris where she reached semi-finals before losing to top seeded Belgian Kim Clijsters. However, her form steeply fell afterwards
and she entered this WTA event standing on a four match losing streak having lost in the opening rounds at Miami, Madrid and Rome.
"I didn't enter here because I thought I'd do better in Madrid and Rome, but I didn't, so I asked for a wildcard for the qualifications just to play some matches on clay and hopefully get some wins before Paris," Kanepi said. "I
was injured before Madrid, I didn't play Stuttgart, so I didn't play too much, but I'm finding my shots again now and getting my confidence. I've done what I came here for."
The Estonian triumphed over Colombian Mariana Duque Marino and Domachowska in straight sets to book a main draw spot at Royal Primerose Tennis Club. She was facing the Polish after seven years and took one hour and forty minutes
to edge over Domachowska in final qualifier.
25-year-old Kanepi thundered into the opening set and held her serve smoothly in the first game. She kept on track and found the coveted break in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. However, the Estonian lost her serve in the very
next game and dragged the set to tie-breaker. Kanepi dominated in it to eventually clinch the set with a 7-6(5) win.
She carried her winning ways in the final set and held her opening serve spectacularly in the second game. The Estonian then exchanged a break in the next two games and after the scores were 2-3, she unleashed a flurry of ground
strokes to reel off four games in a row to seal the set 6-3.
The higher ranked Estonian produced an acceptable first serve share of 59 percent which was slightly higher than Domachowska’s 57 percent, she registered an impressive 68 percent win on it. Regardless of failing to save both breakpoints
faced, Kanepi converted four out of eight breakpoint opportunities to help win comfortably.
She will next face sixth seeded Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in the first round of this event.
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