Lesia Tsurenko upsets Carla Suarez Navarro in the first round – Swedish Open 2012
Maiden upset of the Sony Ericsson Swedish Open was witnessed in the first round clash between the 110th ranked Ukrainian, Lesia Tsurenko, and the 43rd ranked Spaniard, Carla Suarez Navarro. The inferior ranked
contestant ousted her eighth seed age fellow in straight sets 7-5, 6-0 to book a spot in the second round of the tournament at Bastad, Sweden.
The opening set featured some sublime play from both contestants. At the start it was the 23-year-old Ukrainian who was under the cosh in the first two serve games of the match. She saved four breakpoints to hang on to her serve
and deny her superior ranked rival from any early glory.
The tables were turned upon the eighth seed Spaniard in the fourth game when the Ukrainian broke serve against the run of play to take a lead of 3-1. However, Navarro did well to break serve back in the following game and hold
serve to tie the scores at 3-3.
Another swap of breakthroughs witnessed the scores ticking over to 4-4. Both players held their respective serves to escape the pressure games and keep the scores together at 5-5. Navarro was under a lot of pressure in the 10th
game but she did well to hang on and deny Tsurenko of any breakpoint in a ‘do or die’ game.
However, it was not long before the Ukrainian broke serve in the 12th game to win the opening set in emphatic fashion. No one expected such a fierce resistance from the 110th ranked Ukrainian but she proved
everyone wrong.
The second set witnessed something that was totally against the expectations. Tsurenko clubbed three breakpoints on the trot and held her serve comprehensively in every game to post a resounding bagel that left the Spanish star
athlete embarrassed and frustrated at the clay courts of Bastad.
In a post-match interview, Tsurenko said, “I wasn't so confident at the beginning of the match, but as the match went on I started playing better and better. Even though I won the first set, I needed that break at the start of
the second and this calmed me down. The second set was perfect. In fact it was better than perfect! I'm really enjoying playing here and I hope I can continue to play this way for the rest of the tournament."
Next up for the Ukrainian will be the winner of the match between Lucie Hradecka and Tsvetana Pironkova.
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