Magdalena Rybarikova ousts Kimiko Date-Krumm in round one – KDB Korea Open 2012
Slovakian contender, Magdalena Rybarikova, tumbled the Japanese veteran, Kimiko Date-Krumm, in straight sets at the KDB Korea Open 2012 on Tuesday. She penned down a 6-4, 6-3 victory against the 41-year-old to book a spot in the round of 16 at this WTA (Women’s
Tennis Association) International event held in Seoul, South Korea.
The in-form Slovak showed top class performance to triumph over Date-Krumm in their second encounter at this outdoor hard court event. After earning success in one hour and 26 minutes, Rybarikova avenged her loss at the Pattaya Open in Thailand three years
ago and levelled the head-to-head series by 1-1 against the Japanese.
Rybarikova made a powerful entry at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center. She drew the first blood in the fourth game and jumped to a 4-1 lead. The Slovak then exchanged two serve breaks in the last four games and eventually sealed the opener by winning
six games to four. Rybarikova was unsuccessful of saving both breakpoints she came across and capitalised on three out of nine break chances to prevail.
Ranked 56th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Rybarikova went out of control in the following set. She cruised to a 4-0 lead before Date-Krumm snatched a break back. The Slovak smoothly plucked her remaining serves and consequently clicked the set
with a 6-3 win. She failed to send off the lone breakpoint she faced and cashed in both break chances to her advantage.
The 23-year-old took full advantage of several unforced errors Date-Krumm coughed. She jolted down a lower first serve share of 47 per cent as compared to her rival’s 68 per cent but impressively marked 17 out of 28 points on it.
Rybarikova will face off the seventh seed, Klara Zakopalova from Czech Republic. The seed battled past Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in a three-set nail-biter to set up this meeting.
The third seed, Kaia Kanepi, will accompany the Slovak in the next round. She capitalised on five out of seven break chances to formulate a 6-1, 6-0 success in just under an hour. The Estonian star spilled more double faults but fired four aces to neutralise
the effect.
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