Kaia Kanepi ousts Arantxa Rus in the fourth round – French Open 2012
Seeded 23rd in the tournament, Kaia Kanepi powered down the Dutch star, Arantxa Rus, in a tipsy-turvy three setter at the Roland Garros 2012 on Monday. She juggled up a 6-1, 4-6, 6-0 success against the left-handed Dutch to secure a spot in the quarter-finals at this prestigious clay court tournament held in France.
The Estonian top showed top notch performance to outfox Rus in their third encounter. After earning this glory in one hour and 38 minutes, Kanepi not only improved to a 3-0 lifetime in the head-to-head series against the Dutch but also progressed into the final eight at this second Grand Slam event of the circuit.
Kanepi stormed into the Court Suzanne Lenglen and drew the first blood in the second game to jump to a 2-0 lead. Despite losing her edge in the very next game, the Estonian unleashed her true colours and wiped out the last four games consecutively. She dusted away one out of three breakpoints she faced and capitalised on three out of seven break chances, eventually pulling out the opener with a breadstick.
The 21-year-old on the other side rebounded in the second set. She earned the coveted break in the second game to leap to a 3-0 lead. Regardless of losing her edge in the fifth game and exchanging a serve break, Rus stayed focused in the game. She carved out the equaliser with a 6-4 win after cashing in another break chance in the last game.
Ranked 23rd in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Rankings, Kanepi sought her momentum again in the final set which matter the most. She blasted superb forehands and backhands to reel off all six games in a row, subsequently sealing the decider with a bagel.
Next challenge for Kanepi is the world number two, Maria Sharapova from Russia.
"I don't know her as a person, but I think she's a very good player, of course. She's a great fighter and hits the ball really hard," the charismatic Estonian reflected about her next match-up. "If I play well, of course I can win. Why not? But I have to play really well. I'll try my best. I have to be ready."
The second seed overpowered Czech Republic’s Klara Zakopalova in a three set thriller to set up this encounter. She lost her serve nine times but capitalised on 12 out of 31 break chances to formulate a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2 victory.
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