Ksenia Kirillova crushes Chantal Skamlova to reach round two – Antalya ITF 2012
Russian starlet, Ksenia Kirillova, stomped over the Slovakian challenger, Chantal Skamlova, with a breadstick at the Antalya ITF 2012 on Tuesday. She notched up a 6-3, 6-1 victory against the Slovak to secure a place in the round of 16 at this outdoor clay court tournament taking place in Antalya, Turkey.
Seeded third in this event, Kirillova unveiled her true colours after stepping into the Turkish courts. Battling each other for the first time, the Russian booked a place in the second round and stayed on track for her maiden title at this ITF (International Tennis Federation) Women’s Circuit event taking place from 3rd to 9th December.
The 19-year-old assertively entered the Go Tennis Academy. She got the first blood in the third game and jumped to a 4-1 lead. The Russian then held her composure and pocketed remaining serves, eventually sealing the opener by winning six games to three. She warded off all four breakpoints she came across and converted one out of three break chances to her advantage.
Standing at her career best rank at number 348 in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Rankings, Kirillova lost her concentration towards the following set and gifted away her opening serve. However, she went berserk after that and reeled off six games on a row. The Russian failed to fend off the lone breakpoint she faced but marked three out five break chances to progress at this event.
The Russian teenager’s highlight of the season was in May at the Astana ITF event. She cruised to the semi-finals through qualifiers and dominated throughout the tournament. The surprise semi-finalist lost to Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok in brutal straight sets. With this impressive run, she cracked the Top 400 and gained confidence boost. Kirillova maintained consistency in her game and secured quarter-final berths at the Astana ITF and the Minsk ITF.
Next up for Kirillova is the winner of the match between Serbia’s Natalija Kostic and the Russian qualifier, Polina Monova.
The Romanian challenger, Ana Bogdan, will join the Russian in the following round. She dumped the Estonian wild card entrant, Eva Paalma, with a breadstick to advance.
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