Mariana Duque-Marino jolts Johanna Larsson to reach quarters – Abierto Mexicano Telcel 2012
Colombian qualifier, Mariana Duque-Marino, surprised everyone after upsetting the sixth seed, Johanna Larsson, in a three set thriller at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel 2012 on Wednesday. She registered a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory against the world number 67 to
enter quarter-finals at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International event taking place in Acapulco, Mexico.
The 22-year-old found her rhythm in the second set and eventually stunned the Swede with a breadstick in almost two hours. She not only edged in the head-to-head series by 1-0 against Larsson but also secured a spot in the final eight.
Larsson showed her class in the opening set at the Fairmont Acapulco Tennis and bagged the opener with a 6-4 win. She displayed drastic skills and eventually trailed at 1-4 after losing her serve three times. However, she re-focused after this and went on
a five-games killing spree to clobber a 6-4 score line.
Ranked 168th in the WTA rankings, Duque-Marino turned the tides towards her favour in the second set. She broke Larsson’s serve in the opening game and despite losing her serve in the very next game, the Colombian reeled off the last five games
in a row and pulled out the breadstick.
The frustrated seed high spiritedly entered the final set and got the desiderate break in the opening game. Despite losing her serves twice and going 3-1 down, Larsson recovered in the fifth game and got back in contention.
However, the qualifier on the other side of net cashed in her third break chance in the sixth game and extended her lead by 4-2. She then held her nerves and ultimately clinched the decider with a 6-3 score line.
Next challenge for Duque-Marino is the conqueror of the duel between second seeded Flavia Pennetta and Larsson’s compatriot, Sofia Arvidsson.
Joining the Colombian in the second round is the Slovakian starlet, Magdalena Rybarikova. The Slovak rallied past the local wild card entrant, Ximena Hermoso, in a three set nail-biter to reach this spot. She formulated a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 success against the
20-year-old in two hours and 23-minutes in their first meeting. Rybarikova cashed in all three break chances and saved nine out of 11 breakpoints she came across to bag this match.
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