Lucie Hradecka stuns Shuai Peng to reach round two – Mutua Madrid Open 2012
Successful Czech qualifier, Lucie Hradecka, continued her sublime show in the main round of the Mutua Madrid Open on Monday by defeating the likes of 22nd ranked Chinese, Shuai Peng, in a taxing three-setter. She clinched
the win 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 and marched on into the next round of the contest.
Both contenders fought for almost an hour and 51 minutes before the 105th ranked Czech qualifier registered a major upset. She had previously defeated the Chinese in the ASB Classic in Auckland season opener and this
was her second triumph of the year.
The opening set witnessed an early breakpoint for the Czech who scuttled past her competitor to a lead of 3-1. She continued to hammer her opponent and sustained her lead until the end. It was a stunning performance from the 26-year-old
Czech who seemed to have found her sublime form on the blue clay court of Madrid.
However, the Chinese won four points on her serve and bagged a critical breakpoint in the following game to enforce the third set into play. All the hopes of an upset were blurred with this turnaround; however, the Czech had firm
belief in her abilities.
Hradecka sneaked a quick breakthrough in the final set and took a resounding lead of 3-1 in the beginning. She continued to exert pressure and didn’t allow her opponent to sneak close to a breakpoint.
It was a remarkable performance from the Czech qualifier who has book a spot in the second round of the tournament with this triumph. She will lock horns with the in-form third seed compatriot, Petra Kvitova. Kvitova showed no
mercy against the Kiwi star, Ekaterina Makarova, to register a straight sets triumph and inch one step closer to the crown.
Peng replied back in the second set with an early breakthrough and registered a lead of 3-0 upfront. However, she squandered her lead in the seventh game owing to a dismal first serve control. She gifted points to her opponent
who levelled the scores with a serve hold. Both players traded breakpoints to further push the scores at 5-5.
Tags: