Maria Kirilenko puts aside Greta Arn in the second round – US Open 2012
World number 12, Maria Kirilenko, continued her sublime run of form at the second round of the US Open Championship in New York when she locked horns with the 33-year-old Hungarian professional, Greta Arn, on the eve of Thursday.
She won the match in straight sets 6-3, 6-2; dumping the 121st ranked athlete.
Kirilenko was pressurized in the first game by her opponent but she did well to bounce back and hold on to her serve. It was crucial for her to make a comfortable start; otherwise she tends to lose her way and commit several unforced
error in tension.
The Hungarian was enjoying her time out at the hard courts of New York. She held her serve after a bit of trouble and posted the scores of 1-1. The Russian beauty held her serve to 40:15 and extended the steady run to the fourth
game where she was rewarded with a breakpoint that earned her the opening set triumph.
The lead was further extended to 4-1 with the help of a commanding serve hold from the Russian. She looked in great run of form after she survived the nerves at the start of the encounter. The lead was kept intact throughout the
set. It was a terrific start for the in-form 14th seed Russian who has appeared in the advanced stages of almost all tournaments ever since the closure of the London Olympics.
Both players settled into the second round proceedings right from the word go. No drama or lack of confidence was seen at either end; allowing the contenders to hold serve on two successive occurrences that pushed the scores to
2-2. However, the smart display from the Russian earned her the first breakpoint of the set and the serve hold.
The following game played a role of catalyst in booming the chances of a second set victory for the Russian. Arn was unable to hold her serve for the second time in the seventh game when she was forced to drown further; trailing
2-5 at that stage and had to break serve in the following game to keep the match alive. She failed to do so.
Kirilenko is tied up with Andrea Hlavackova in round three.
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