Kao/Lee upsets Glushko/Zheng in quarters – OEC Ladies Open 2012
Local challengers, Shao-Yuan Kao and Hua-Chen Lee, stunned fourth seeded tandem, Israel’s Julia Glushko and China’s Saisai Zheng, in a three-set thriller at the OEC Taipei WTA Ladies Open 2012 on Thursday. They clobbered a 7-6(2), 2-6, 11-9 victory against
their opponents to occupy a spot in the semi-finals at this first WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Challenger event taking place in Chinese Taipei.
The Taiwanese junction fell off the right path in the second set at this indoor carpet tournament. However, they remained calm and subsequently carved out the victory in one hour and 29 minutes. As a result, Kao and Lee comfortably advanced into the final
four.
Kao and Lee made a dismal start at the Taipei Arena. They suffered the first shock in the fourth game and fell at 1-3. However, the Taiwanese tandem quickly recovered by snatching their break back in the very next game. The set went to a tie-breaker where
Kao and Lee dominated and eventually clinched the opener with a 7-6(2) score line. They brushed off three out of four breakpoints they faced and converted one out of four break chances to their advantage.
The Israeli-Chinese junction rebounded in the following set. They got the coveted break in the third game and leaped to a 3-1 lead. After the Taiwanese duo kept their serve in the fifth game, Glushko and Zheng reeled off the last three games and eventually
sealed the equaliser with a 6-2 win. They were never threatened with any breakpoint and capitalised on two out of three break chances to get back in contention.
In the final set which matter the most, Kao and Lee recorded a perfect first serve share. They cruised to a 5-2 lead before closing out the super tie-breaker with an 11-9 victory.
All in all, Kao and Lee manipulated a better first serve share of 76 per cent as compared to their rivals’ 66 per cent and amazingly marked 31 out of 53 points on it. They also hammered two aces and ended the match with 58 points.
Next in queue for Kao and Lee are the top seeds, Taiwan’s Hao-Ching Chan and France’s Kristina Mladenovic.
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