Magdelena Rybarikova, Sabine Lisicki through to the quarterfinals – AEGON Classic 2011
Number fourteen seed Magdelena Rybarikova made a stunning comeback to defeat Russian Arina Rodionova 7-6 (1), 6-0, 6-1 here in Birmingham on Thursday. With her win, the Slovakian tennis-pro also booked her place in the quarterfinal
of season’s first grass court tournament, 2011 AEGON Classic.
Rybarikova looked a bit out of sorts as the match started. Looking to find her form, she made a quite a few unforced errors thus allowing Rodionova to play her natural game with freedom. Rodionova received a number of break chances
during the set but she was unable to convert them. As both players successfully held on their serve games, the set moved into a tie-breaker. Showing no signs of nerves in the tie-breaker, the 233-ranked Rodionova clinched five straight points to take the set
score lead 1-0.
Looking to recover, Rybarikova started the second set on positive as she broke the challenger early to blaze forward to a 3-0 lead. Not allowing any sort of room to Rodionova, she broke the serve two more times in the set to even
the set score.
Rodionova failed to handle the pressure in the final set as well. Looking short of confidence, the Russian struggled to execute her game plan as she smashed easy forehand and backhand winner on to the net. Rybarikova, on the other
hand, kept her head down and created match winning opportunities for herself. Claiming six out of seven games in the set, she ended the contest in style.
Hitting 63 percent first serve and 7 serve aces, Rybarikova made drastic improvements in her serve to shift the balance of the match. Converting five out of eight break points in the match, she made the challenger pay heavily for
her mistakes. Rodionova had a bright start but as the match progressed, she lost her concentration and let Rybarikova dominate all aspects of the game.
In another third round match at the Edgbaston Prior Club in Birmingham, German Sabine Lisicki defeated Tamira Paszek of Austria 7-6 (1), 6-4 to book her place in the last eight of Women’s Tennis Association tournament.
Being in great form over the last few weeks, Lisicki started the match very aggressively as she looked to assert dominance over her opponent. Paszek, who ousted number six seed Ekaterina Makarova in her previous match, was also
up for the challenge. After the contestants broke each other twice, the opening set was forced into a tie-breaker. Showing her determination and strong temperament, Lisicki clinched the opener to draw the first blood.
Displaying some high quality tennis in the second set as well, the German broke the serve at regular intervals as she raced to a 5-3 lead. Dashing a big forehand winner down the line, she converted the first match point to seal
a thumping victory.
Tags: