Maria Kirilenko defeats Tamira Paszek in 3rd round – China Open 2011
Russian Maria Kirilenko got the better off Austrian Tamira Paszek in the third round of the China Open 2011. The two had battled it out for one hour and twenty three minutes on the outdoor hard courts of the National Tennis Center
in Beijing, China. The Russian brass scored in straight sets of 6-1, 6-2 against the 20 year-old Austrian on Thursday the 6th of October 2011.
Kirilenko had opted to serve first in the opening round of the match and she skilfully managed to hold her serve in the first game without much opposition to rotate the scoreboard at 1-0. Following behind her was Paszek, who too
won a game on her serve and placed herself right beside Kirilenko on the scoreboard at 1-1. During the third game Kirilenko again won on her serve and then capitalized on a breakpoint to take a mini lead of 3-1. As she held serve in the fifth game, she was
leading with 4-1, a game and break up against the Austrian.
During the second last game, Austrian Paszek battled a deuce but in the end endorsed a game to her opposition as she was unable to hold her serve. By the end of the sixth game the Russian was now leading with a 5-1 and was now
looking to serve for the opening set. As she held serve in the seventh game, she restricted her opponent to only one game in the entire set and clogged the opening set victory with a 6-1.
After taking a beating in the first set and losing six games in a row, Paszek should’ve tried harder in the second set but it seemed she was not up to the challenge. While Kirilenko was quick to take the competitive edge and by
capitalizing on two out of the four break points, she had clogged the initial set.
The second round of the match was opened by Paszek and for the first four games the players were successful in winning on alternate games to spin the scoreboard at 2-2. Availing a crucial break in the fifth game, allowed Kirilenko
to take the lead and as she held serve in the sixth, she secured her lead of 4-2. During the last two games Kirilenko took the second crucial breakpoint and by the eighth game she served for the set and the match.
Kirilenko was able to secure a place in the quarterfinal of the event where she will be facing Romaine Monica Niculescu.
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