Kirsten Flipkens routs Mallory Burdette in round two – Generali Ladies Linz 2012
World number 66, Kirsten Flipkens, rounded off the second round contest of the Generali Ladies Linz in two hours and six minutes; dispatched the 156th ranked American fellow qualifier, Mallory Burdette, in an epic three-setter.
On Thursday, the 26-year-old Belgian bounced back a set down to register an emphatic score line of 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 that helped her slide into the quarter final of the contest having made it through from the qualifying stages.
Burdette was absolutely thrilled at the start of the contest; jumping up and down and shouting ‘come on’ at the end of every successful rally. She clinched a breakpoint in the first game of the match and protected it with a commanding
serve hold. However, the Belgian bounced back to make it 2-2 courtesy eight successful rallies in a row.
The 26-year-old Belgian held her serve and a swap of breakpoints coupled with a commanding game for Burdette pushed the scores to 4-4. The experienced player dropped a breakpoint in the most critical stages of the match and had
to break serve in the 10th game but failed to win a single point that allowed a set lead to her rival.
The second set was a piece of cake for the Belgian who shattered away the 21-year-old American to all corners of the court. She held her serve with no pressure at all on four successive occurrences and won two breakpoints in between
to end the second phase in just seven games. It was a demoralizing factor for the 156th ranked American qualifier who had such a wonderful start to the match.
The final set didn’t prove to be one sided at all. Burdette failed to hold serve in the first game but equalized with a breakthrough in the sixth game to make it 3-3. Both players traded breakpoints to push the scores further;
held their respective serves as well that tickled the scoreboard to 5-5. It was high-time for each athlete to hold serve and enforce the tie-breaker but the youngster faltered and gifted the triumph to her competitor.
Kirsten Flipkens will go head-to-head against the former world number one, Ana Ivanovic, in the hunt for a shot at semi-final berth.
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