Lucie Hradecka downs Melinda Czink to start her campaign – Osprey Challenger 2012
Hungarian veteran, Melinda Czink, couldn’t surpass the opening round of the Osprey Challenger tournament; falling to the 68th ranked Czech, Lucie Hradecka, who grabbed the win after a gruelling three-setter. Final scores
were 6-2, 6(4)-7, 6-3.
It was the fourth encounter between the two players and the first successful one for the Czech who had lost the previous three battles in ECM Prague Open 2008, Grand Prix De SAR 2009 and Brisbane International 2010.
A cracking start for the superior ranked contestant gave her a lot of confidence. She grabbed an unassailable lead of 4-0 upfront courtesy to a couple of breakpoints. She cruised away with an opening set lead dropping just two
games on her way and sending a strong message to her competitor that she was out there to win.
The second set was a classic battle between the two players. Both competitors launched all-round assaults gobbling up breakpoints but not managing to hold their respective serves. It was the veteran who finally broke the shackles
and registered a serve hold. Hradecka followed her and held her serve to enforce a tie-breaker round into play.
A tense situation usually favours the experienced contenders and same happened at the clay courts of America. The top seed Czech fell apart courtesy to an early mini-break for the Hungarian who tied the set scores at one apiece.
Tiring display from Czink in the final set took the flare away from the match. Crowd was expecting a much better contest but the 123rd ranked Hungarian lost her way at the start; losing an early breakpoint to ease her
opponent’s serve.
The 26-years-old Czech gobbled up another breakthrough on her way to a comprehensive final set triumph. She felt relieved after registering her first head-to-head triumph against the Hungarian and more importantly saved an upset
to sail into the second round of the tournament.
She remains the hot favourite to win the tournament and more importantly build up some momentum. It will never be an easy walk for the Czech considering that there are many talented players who are capable of pulling up an upsets
on their lucky days.
Tags: