Maria Kirilenko recovers from a set-down to oust Casey Dellacqua in round one – Pattaya Open 2012
Russian beauty queen, Maria Kirilenko, was tested rigorously on the hard courts of Pattaya City by the Aussie tennis ace, Casey Dellacqua, on Tuesday. The fourth seed Russian bounced back from being a set down to overpower the
Aussie in an epic three-setter during the PTT Pattaya Open. Final scores were 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 in favour of the Russian.
Both players locked horns for the first time in their professional careers. They were going through a topsy turvy session at the courts; unable to find consistency in their game play and the results. Dellacqua was in good touch
than her counterpart but the experience and class of the Russian dodged the possibility of a major upset.
Kirilenko started the proceedings and held her serve in the opening game. She was followed by her counterpart as the scores progressed to 1-1. Dellacqua was looking the aggressive player, looking out on an opportunity to pound
on her opponent. The Russian assisted her with some miserable display of control on her shots, especially her serve. The Aussie broke serve in the third game and took the lead.
Dellacqua was very clever on changing the pace of her game and slowed the tempo; reverted back to her normal game style after registering a breakthrough. Kirilenko fought hard but wasn’t able to go through the defences of her opponent.
The Aussie capitalized on her serves and won the first set; inched step closer on registering a massive upset.
The second set was played in the same fashion, with the Russian unable to break through the defences of her opponent for the first six games of the set. Surprisingly, Kirilenko was under the cosh and finally her serve was broken
in the seventh game that further enhanced the possibility of an upset.
Fourth seed replied back instantaneously in the following game; broke her opponent’s serve to level the scores at 4-4. No more serve breaks were witnessed and the tie-breaker round was enforced to decide the set. The Russian was
also forced on the back foot with a mini-break at the start from her rival but she showed immense strength to stay composed and turn the tables on her opponent. Set scores were levelled at one apiece with Dellacqua wasting a majestic opportunity to register
an upset.
The final set witnessed flurry of breakthroughs with just a single hold going in favour of the Russian. Eight breakpoints were shared in the ratio of 5:3 for the Russian. With this emphatic triumph, she booked a berth in the second
round to play against another Aussie superstar, Anastasia Rodionova.
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