Marion Bartoli takes down Klara Zakopalova to reach the quarters – New Haven Open 2011
World number nine, Marion Bartoli of France, manoeuvred her way through the second round of New Haven Open at Yale, defeating the 44th ranked Czech competitor, Klara Zakopalova, on Wednesday afternoon.
In the exciting battle, that took place on the on the hard courts of the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center in New Haven, Connecticut, United States, the number four seed Bartoli registered victory by settling the final scores at 6-2,
2-6, 6-1. The French took two hours and nineteen minutes of play to clinch her 44th victory of the running year and booked a berth in the quarter-finals of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Series event.
Bartoli finally ended the two-match winning streak of Zakopalova against her. The Czech defeated Bartoli in the quarter-finals at Hobart, Australia, earlier this year but the French’s payback on Wednesday afternoon levelled the
all-time head-to-head series against her by 2-2. Apart from the sloppy play in the second set, Bartoli kept dominating the contest all the way, driving the unseeded Czech opponent out of the competition.
“I was pleased I was able to hang tough today. Everything looked good,” Bartoli told the press reporters after disposing off Zakopalova. “It’s important to get matches right now and this victory is great for my confidence because
I had lost the last two times we played.”
The fourth seeded French coughed a number of unforced errors in the match, which include 10 alarming double faults, but very skill fully compensated for it by securing 32 first serve points in the game. Bartoli had 21 break opportunities
in the matchup but only six conversions from the French racquet proved sufficient for her victory. Zakopalova cashed in four out of her 10 break chances in the contest, finishing on the losing side in the end.
Bartoli took the opener with ease, striking three timely serve breaks to get one up in the contest but a strong comeback was witnessed from Zakopalova in the very next set. The Czech nailed three break point conversions to grab
the second set on a high note but the world number nine proved her supremacy in the final set, disposing off Zakopalova to finish off the contest at 6-1.
Bartoli will take on the other Czech competitor, Petra Cetkovska, in the next matchup for a place in the semis of New Haven Open. Cetkovska surprised the fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, in the second round clash on Tuesday.
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