Kirilenko/Petrova dump Benesova/Garrigues to reach the doubles quarters – Rome Masters 2012
Fifth seed Russian duo of Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova overwhelmed the Czech-Spanish tandem of Iveta Benesova and Anabel Medina Garrigues in the second round of the doubles category at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Thursday.
The Russians laboured for one hour and 22 minutes to wrap up victory in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, to book a spot in the quarter-final round of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier 5 event in Rome, Italy.
Kirilenko and Petrova exhibited another display of sheer coordination and class to route their bleak competitors in a commanding fashion. The Russian veterans faced some early resistance from Benesova and Garrigues in the opening
set but they stringed together their individual efforts together to get the better of the unseeded competitors. Once finding their rhythm, Kirilenko and Petrova raced through the second set to drive Benesova and Petrova out of the tournament in style.
The fifth seeded duo delivered 66 per cent of their serve on target and dropped 10 points on it, clinching 27 out of 37 points, en route to victory. They backed their aggressive style by precise return game, winning 16 out of 36
points on their opponents’ serve to dismantle them. Kirilenko and Petrova crafted a total of 10 break opportunities in the match but only five conversions proved sufficient for them to come out as the winner.
On the other hand, Benesova and Garrigues could barely register two out of seven break opportunities in the entire match to finish on the losing side in the end. They didn’t commit any double faults in the contest but kept hitting
most of their strokes long and wide of the clay court. Kirilenko and Petrova exploited the open cracks between their opponents, belting assertive winners down the line to keep pressure building upon them. They capitalised upon most of their net points, pinning
cross-court winners and sustained a rock solid baseline defence throughout the matchup to conclude victory.
The fifth seeded Russians will next face the third seeded home favourite duo of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in the quarter-final draw of the Rome Masters. Errani and Vinci had least trouble in disposing the unseeded Argentine
tandem of Gisela Dulko and Paola Suarez, 6-3, 6-4, in the second round of the tournament. The third seed Italians are considered to be the hot favourites for winning the coveted WTA clay court title on their home soil and will take on Kirilenko and Petrova
on Friday afternoon for a spot in the semis.
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