Maria Kirilenko battles past Ekaterina Makarova in the opening round – US Open 2011
Rated at number 26 in WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) World Rankings, Maria Kirilenko of Russia went through some tough time before she clinched victory over the 42nd ranked fellow compatriot, Ekaterina Makarova, in the opening round of the US Open on Monday afternoon.
The two contestants went one-on-one at the Court 7 of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States, for a place in the second round of the Grand Slam tournament. Kirilenko laboured hard for two hours and fifty eight minutes before settling the final scores at 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(3), to come out as the winner in the end.
The enthralling contest featured some high quality tennis from both of the Russians, who threw their best at each other to clinch victory. Seeded at number 25 in the tournament, Kirilenko finally avenged her defeat she faced at hands of Makarova in the quarter-finals at Estoril Open in 2009. Her Monday’s victory took her into a 2-1 lead in the all-time head-to-head series against Makarova and earned her a place in the second round of the US Open.
Kirilenko delivered 58 per cent of her serve on target and excelled over her opponent in the contest by reeling off 42 out of 60 first serve points. She crafted a total of 16 break points in the matchup and converted four of them en route to victory, while Makarova cashed in three of her 11 break opportunities to finish the matchup on the losing end.
The 25th seed Russian was off to a sloppy start in the opening set and dropped her serve in the very first game of the match and then again in the fifth game to trail 1-4 early in the game. Makarova took the opener at 6-4 but failed to sustain her momentum in the following set and allowed Kirilenko to sting three crucial serve breaks to pocket the second set at 6-1.
Intense tennis was witnessed in the final set, with both players failing to register a serve break. A tie breaker round came into play when the scores got dead locked at 6-6 and Makarova crumbled under the pressure of defeat to let Kirilenko sweep her out of the competition, losing the third set at 6-7(3).
Un next for Kirilenko in the second round is the other unseeded Russian competitor, Vera Dushevina, who outplayed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in the opening round.
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