Kirsten Flipkens and Stefanie Voegele move into the main draw – US Open 2012
Kirsten Flipkens battles past Catalina Castano 7-6(5), 7-6(5)
World number 133, Kirsten Flipkens, battled past Catalina Castano in the final qualifier of the US Open held on the hard courts in New York this Friday. Flipkens prevailed over her rival with 7-6(5), 7-6(5) to book a spot
in the main draw of the Grand Slam event.
The Belgian tennis professional exhibited a superb start and retained her initial serve in the set and very tactfully secured her 2-love lead. The former world number 35 was not up to the mark and was unable to retain her
first serve. She gradually picked up pace and equalized the scores five times in the set. She had a fair chance until the end to upset Flipkens. The tie-breaker round proved a tough competition between the two contenders, however, 26-year-old Belgium professional
pounced forward and secured the opening set with a 7-6(5) score line.
The next set followed a similar format. Nonetheless, the game shifted momentum and the Colombian clenched the initial three games in the set. The right-handed German struggled hard to curtail the deficit in the set but after
a fierce battle, she eventually managed to equalize the scores to 5-all.
As both the participants were desperate to bag away victory, the set ended in a tie-break. The Belgium participant displayed a relatively better performance on critical moments and claimed the match with a 7-6(5) score.
Stefanie Voegele dispatches Heidi El Tabakh 6-4, 6-3
22-year-old Swiss, Stefanie Voegele, disposed the world number 187, Heidi El Tabakh, in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, on the hard courts of the Flushing Meadows in New York.
Voegele and Tabakh retained their initial serves in the set, levelling their scores at 1-all. The Swiss contender moved ahead taking the scores with her lead of 5-4. The Canadian tennis professional resisted and had a fair
chance to upset her rival. Voegele nailed a break point to consolidate her scores and eventually claimed the set at 6-4.
There was no break of serve until the fifth game of the following set and the 25-year-old Canadian’s confidence considerably dropped down. Voegele hit a blow against her rival and like the previous juncture, she succeeded
in jolting her 6-3 win.
The right-hander Canadian double faulted six times in the match and smashed two aces. In comparison, the Swiss professional fired four aces and double faulted once. She will compete against Petra Martic in the first round
of the championship.
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