Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova win the doubles title in Miami – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
Russian veterans, Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova bagged their third WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) doubles title after disposing of the Italian pair of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open on
Sunday afternoon. They outplayed the sixth seeded duo with the final score line of 7-6(0), 4-6, 10-4, to lift their first title at Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida.
It was a gruelling battle between the four veterans, with each one of them battling extremely hard to get the better of one another. Errani and Vinci posed brilliant resistance to their superior-seeded opponents but couldn’t deliver
the final shot to claim the title. They went neck-to-neck with Kirilenko and Petrova right from the beginning and dragged them to their limits before finally submitting in the super tie-breaker round.
“We have good communication,” Petrova said after their triumph. “She [Kirilenko] is always having fun on the court. If we lose, we’re not being very down. We kind of look forward to the next one. I guess just being positive is
our key. We were really motivated to win this tournament, because we have been playing well together but really didn’t have a title for a while.”
A gruelling opening set was played between the two teams, tanking 55 minutes to settle and witnessing a total of six break points apiece. Scores kept ticking on even terms and were dead-locked at 6-6 to enforce a tie-breaker into
play. Kirilenko and Petrova were absolutely destructive in the decider and didn’t spare a single point for their opponents, racing to 7-6(0) to get one up in the match.
A brilliant comeback from the Italians in the following set turned the course of the game once again. Errani and Vinci rallied past the Russian opponents to take the second set at 4-6, levelling the contest at one-all. It all came
down to the super tie-breaker round and the Italians chocked once again in the pressure situation. Kirilenko and Petrova kept on with their onslaught in ultimate decider and raced away to 10-4 to lift the Sony Ericsson Open trophy for the first time.
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