Lucie Hradecka pounces over Ekaterina Makarova to reach quarters – Mutua Madrid Open 2012
Czech qualifier, Lucie Hradecka, trashed the Russian starlet, Ekaterina Makarova, in straight sets at the Mutua Madrid Open 2012 on Thursday. She joggled up a 6-2, 7-6(5) victory against the world number 41 to cruise into the final eight at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Mandatory event taking place in Spain.
The underdog displayed top notch performance to upset Makarova for the first time in the third outing. After earning the spotlight in one hour and 28 minutes, Hradecka not only lowered trail in the head-to-head series by 1-2 against the left-handed Russian but also booked a spot in her very first premier-level quarter-final.
"When I was down in the tie-break, at 4-0, I hit a crosscourt backhand and she wasn't there, and after that I thought, 'Okay, just take it step by step now and we'll see,'" Hradecka commented after the match.
Hradecka thundered into Park Manzanares and drew the first blood in the opening game to jump to a 2-0 lead. She then plucked her remaining serves after warding off all three breakpoints she faced and cashed in her second break chance in the seventh game to click the opener with a 6-2 success.
Ranked 105th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Hradecka kept momentum rolling into the following set and earned the coveted break in the seventh game to get the upper hand. Despite losing her serve in the very next game, she held her composure and dragged the set to the tie-breaker. The Czech was trailing 0-4 in it before she found her track and clinched the set with a 7-6(5) score line.
The 26-year-old fired 15 ferocious aces and clobbered a better first serve share. She also dusted away six out of seven breakpoints she came across and finished the match with 70 points.
Hradecka booked this spot after stunning her third seeded compatriot, Petra Kvitova, in straight sets.
The Czech further stated, "All of my matches have helped me this week. Beating Petra Kvitova in the last round was a big win for me too. I've gotten a lot of confidence and today I was just able to fight hard and make it through."
Next up for Hradecka is the fifth seed, Samantha Stosur, who eased past Petra Cetkovska in straight sets to set-u this duel. The US Open titlist lost her serve once but broke her rival’s serve four times, consequently sealing the deal with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
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