Magdalena Rybarikova outlasts Ximena Hermoso in round two – Abierto Mexicano Telcel 2012
Slovakian starlet, Magdalena Rybarikova, battled past the local wild card entrant, Ximena Hermoso, in mouth-watering three sets at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel 2012 on Wednesday. She summed up a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 score line against the local contestant to book
a spot in the quarter-finals at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) event taking place on the clay courts in Acapulco, Mexico.
Rybarikova made quick in-roads at the Fairmont Acapulco Princess and held her serve in the opening game. In spite of suffering the first blow in the third game and trailing at 1-3, the Slovak pulled out the opener by pocketing the final five games in a row.
With the help from the crowd support, Hermoso made a fitting reply in the proceeding set. She earned the desiderated break in the second game and then held her composure to swipe in remaining serves, ultimately levelling the set scores.
The higher ranked unveiled her true form in the final set and kept her serve in the opening game. Rybarikova defended both breakpoints she encountered and smoothly plucked remaining serves. She got the breakthrough in the eighth game by cashing in the only
break chance and consequently sealed the decider by winning six games to three.
Summing up the Slovak’s performance in this two hours and 23-minute long duel, Rybarikova took full advantage of the several unforced errors and double faults the Mexican committed. She produced a lower first serve share of 61 percent as compared to her
rival’s 78 percent but impressively availed 45 out of 62 points on it. The Slovak defended nine out of 11 breakpoints she faced and converted all three break opportunities to her advantage.
After displaying brilliant skills at this international level tournament, Rybarikova assertively advanced into the final eight where fourth seeded Irina-Camelia Begu awaits her.
"I feel destroyed but I'm very happy I'm in the quarterfinals," the delighted Slovak said in a post-match conference. "The conditions were very tough today and she played pretty well. She's a wildcard but she's a very good player. I had to try my hardest
today."
The Romanian crippled the Georgian starlet, Anna Tatishvili, with a breadstick to secure this spot. Begu was unsuccessful in blocking the only breakpoint she came across but capitalised on five out of nine break chances, subsequently sealing the match with
a 6-3, 6-1 score line in an hour and 11-minutes marathon. Begu coughed six double faults and produced a lower first serve share but clinched 23 out of 31 points on it.
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