Magdalena Rybarikova upsets Lucie Safarova in the 1st round – US Open 2011
The main draw of the US Open 2011 saw its first upset between twenty seventh seeded Lucie Safarova and Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova. The two were not meeting for the first time and had duelled on hard courts of USTA Billie Jean
King National Tennis Center. Rybarikova won the match by surviving a mid-summer slip with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
Opening the first set was Rybarikova who initiated the set at 1-0, in the following four games the two rallied it out against one another winning on alternative serves until the sixth game when the Slovak was able to break her
rival’s serve to take the lead at 4-2. Winning on her respective serve in the seventh game, she was now at an essential stage in the game but as Safarova served for the eighth game, Rybarikova leaped to avail the opportunity and breaking Safarova for the second
and the last time. She clogged the set by restraining her opponent to only 2 games in the entire set.
As Rybarikova powered through the first set, she thought the second set would also be an easy accomplishment. However, Safarova was not about to give up easily.
Serving first was Rybarikova, as both the players kept winning on their particular serves, in the fifth game Safarova broke her opponent for the first time and after winning a game on the sixth game took the lead 4-2. Since Rybarikova
was also an extremely determined player, they both again won a game in the next two games. Safarova had struck four aces during the eighth game and bagged the game without any opposition and with a lead of 5-3; she was looking for a game point. To the mercy
of the Higher Power, she got a chance to break her adversary in the 9th game and with a 6-3 was jumping on the court.
Now both the players had bagged a set apiece but Rybarikova knew her rival’s technique and skill which hadn’t changed much since 2006 and with a little experience and luck she was able to see a comprehensive victory in the third
set. Although, it was extremely unfortunate Safarova, the crowd still cheered for the players as they had displayed a tremendous performance of well placed shots and winners.
Not ready to throw in the towel, the players were neck-to-neck with each other, winning points on their serves when in the fifth game Safarova lost control and let her challenger break her in the fifth and the seventh game to see
an en-route victory in the eighth.
After a marathon battle of the third set, Rybarikova was able to defeat her adversary in a total of two hours and 29 minutes and was able to secure a berth in the second round of the US Open 2011.
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