Mandy Minella stuns Johanna Larsson to reach the final-four – NURNBERGER Gastein Ladies 2012
A stunning outcome was witnessed in the quarter-final round of the NURNBERGER Gastein Ladies tournament on Friday, when the eighth seeded Swede tennis ace, Johanna Larsson, crashed out of the competition at the hands of the Luxembourgian tennis sensation, Mandy Minella. The 89th ranked Swede battled for one hour and 49 minutes in the contest before bowing out to the 26-year-old opponent in the third set, 6-1, 2-6, 2-6.
It was the second face off between these two contenders, with Larsson winning the first battle in 2008 at Sutton, Great Britain. It was the payback time for Minella on Friday and she stunned the tournament hot favourite in a convincing fashion to earn a spot in the semi-finals. Her victory not only levelled the head-to-head record at 1-1 against the Swede but also evens the win-loss ratio to 17-17 for the running season.
Eighth seed Larsson was right on the track initially and stamped her authority early on the game by bagging the opening set with a breadstick. Her game went through a terrible slump in the following two sets and the Luxembourgian came hard at her to turn the tide. Minella spared barely four games to the eighth seeded Swede in the last two sets of the match and concluded her surprise victory on style.
Minella delivered her first serve with 68 per cent precision and clinched 31 out of 51 points on it, while converting seven of her 12 break opportunities in the match to come out as the deserving winner. On the other hand, Larsson could resist the onslaught of her Luxembourgian opponent with five out of 10 break point conversions and 24 out of 45 first serve points, eventually finishing on the losing side in the end.
A much harder task awaits Minella in the semi-final round of the NURNBERGER Gastein Ladies, as she will have to face the second seeded Belgian tennis ace, Yanina Wickmayer, for earning a title shot in the final of the tournament. Wickmayer received a wildcard entry to the tournament and has rocked the show with her all-round brilliant tennis en route to the semis.
Tags: