Ksenia Pervak surprises Sorana Cirstea to enter quarters – BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open 2012
Kazakhstani star, Ksenia Pervak, stunned the sixth seed, Sorana Cirstea from Romania, with a breadstick at the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open 2012 on Thursday. She notched up a 7-6(4), 6-1 victory against the world number 26 to secure a spot in the final eight at this indoor hard court event held in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
The underdog showed exceptional skills to stomp over Cirstea for the first time in their third meeting. After recording the victory in one and a half hour, Pervak avenged her loss in Hobart earlier this season and lowered trail in the head-to-head series by 1-2 against the 22-year-old.
Pervak stormed into this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International-level tournament. She drew the first blood in the opening game and jumped to a 2-0 lead. Apart from losing her edge in the eighth game, the Kazakh stayed calm and prolonged the set to a tie-breaker. She jumped to a 4-2 lead in it before closing out the opener with a 7-6(4) win.
Ranked 106th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Pervak went out of control in the following set. She went on a five-game tear before Cirstea could hold on. The Kazakh plucked her serve once again and pulled out the victory with a breadstick. She was never challenged with any barrier and cashed both break chances to steal the limelight.
On the whole, the Kazakh spilled more double faults but manipulated a better first serve share to neutralise the effect. She also brilliantly marked 31 out of 38 points on it and ended the match with 72 points.
Next in line for Pervak is the former Top 10, Andrea Petkovic from Germany.
"I lost to Ksenia at Wimbledon in 2011," Petkovic reflected about facing the Kazakh in a post match press conference. "She played a great match - I played a terrible match - but she didn't make it easy to play my best tennis. I'm very excited to play her again and try and make a few things work a little better this time."
The German star shocked third seeded Jelena Jankovic from Serbia with a bagel.
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