Maria Kirilenko stuns Petra Kvitova to qualify for the semis – London Olympics 2012
World number 15, Maria Kirilenko, defied all the odds and put aside the former Wimbledon Champion, Petra Kvitova, in straight sets 7-6(3), 6-3 to reach the semi-final stage of the London Olympics at the All England Lawn Tennis
Club, Wimbledon.
It was a thrilling encounter featuring a classic tactical display at both ends but in the end it was the 14th seed Russian who took hold and prevailed supreme over the sixth seed Czech on the eve of Thursday.
The head-to-head scores were tied at 2-2 before the start of the encounter. More importantly, the previous two battles were won by the 22-year-old Czech who was the hot favourite to power down the 25-year-old Russian in the quarter-final
clash as well but she failed to justify her class and bowed down to Kirilenko.
Both players started off in shaky fashion. However, they managed to hold serves at the start and deny their opponent from any sort of early advantage into the match. Moreover, as they settled into the atmosphere, the serve holds
became easier and faster to come by.
Kvitova, against the expectations, was tested on her serves whilst the Russian superstar managed to hold serve with little test. However, there was no successful breakthrough for either of the two athletes and that enforced a tie-breaker
round into play.
Kvitova who struggled with her serves a bit was forced down to an early mini-break and the Czech couldn’t recover to keep the set alive. It was mandatory for her to fight back in the second set and many people that Kirilenko was
lucky to take the first set but the scenario in the second phase completely turned the expectations of all.
Both players continued to bag their serve games. The Russian was clearly the one leading the show and dominating the proceedings; forcing Kvitova to dig deep and save breakpoints. Finally, the breakthrough for the Russian arrived
in the fourth opportunity when she broke serve to lead the scores 5-3. She held her serve and jumped in the air to express her delight.
"It's a dream. I had some tactics to play today and I did everything I planned, and it went well. I'm so happy with this result." Kirilenko stated afterwards.
"Maria played better today - she was faster and served well. It was windy and I think I could have played better, but all the credit to her." Kvitova commented.
Maria Kirilenko faces Maria Sharapova in an all-Russian semi-final.
Tags: