Magdalena Rybarikova upsets Alexandra Dulgheru in round one – Abierto Mexicano Telcel 2012
Slovakian starlet Magdalena Rybarikova surprised everyone after stunning the fifth seeded Romanian, Alexandra Dulgheru, in a mouth-watering three setter at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel 2012 on Tuesday. She nudged up a 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) success against the Romanian in the opening round at this clay court tournament held in Acapulco, Mexico.
The world number 95 displayed awe-inspiring skills to shock Dulgheru for the first time in their third meeting. She not only avenged her defeats at Granada and Penza WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) events in 2007 but also lowered the trail by 1-2 against the Romanian.
Ranked 57th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Dulgheru showed her class in the opening set. She unleashed her skills and reeled off the opening four games in a row before the Slovak could hold on. The Romanian then held her remaining serves and pulled out the opener by winning six games to two.
The former world number 40 suffered the first blow in the third game of the proceeding set. Despite recovering in the follow-up game, she lost her serve again in the ninth game and trailed at 4-5. However, Rybarikova re-focused at the point and went on a three-game rampage, subsequently sealing the deal with a 7-5 win.
Dulgheru sought her rhythm again in the final set and earned the coveted break in the opening game.
The 23-year-old on the other side of net brought her experience into handy and snatched her break back in the sixth game. She then held her nerves and not only dragged the set to a tie-breaker but also clinched the decider with a 7-6(3) score line.
Overall, the seed displayed dismal performance throughout the 2 hours and 52-minutes battle. She committed eight double faults and regardless of clobbering a better first serve share of 62 per cent as compared to the Slovak’s 56 per cent, the Romanian marked 46 out of 73 points on it. She also found 17 break chances but availed only five of them.
Next up for Rybarikova is the local wild card entrant, Ximena Hermoso, who dumped Patricia Mayr-Achleitner in straight sets to set-up this clash.
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