Marion Bartoli labours past Vera Dushevina in the second round battle – Family Circle Cup 2012
World number seven, Marion Bartoli of France, had to go through some tough channels before she eventually defeated the unseeded Russian opponent, Vera Dushevina, in the second round of the Family Circle Cup on Wednesday. The third
seed French laboured for three hours and four minutes to overcome the 78th ranked crafty Russian, settling the final score line at 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4, booking a place in the third round of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier-level event in
Charleston, USA.
The 27-year-old French carries on her sublime form, registering her 18th victory of the running season and the fourth one against Dushevina. She improved her record to 4-7 against the 25-year-old Russian and carries
her voyage to claim her first championship title of the year.
Bartoli’s 63 per cent accurate first serve yielded her 46 out of 70 points in the match, while Dushevina bettered her with 52 out of her 85 points. The third seed French coughed eight double faults in the matchup but the vital
difference was made by the number of break points she registered. Bartoli had a total of 19 break points and she cashed in seven of them, whereas Dushevina lagged behind with just four out of nine conversions to finish on the losing side in the end.
The opening set was completely dominated by Bartoli, who nailed three serve breaks to outsmart the Russian early in the contest. Dushevina made a fitting reply in the following set and stretched the third seed to her limits. She
moved on neck-to-neck in the set and eventually won it in the tie-breaker round. She was going well in the decisive set but an excellent display of class and skill from Bartoli took her down in the end.
"The first game was 22 minutes long I think, so that set up the tone," Bartoli said of the 30-point-plus opening game. "The last two years I lost first round here, and I didn't want to lose again, so I really tried my hardest.
I didn't play my best, but I just kept fighting and kept fighting and was able to win."
Bartoli will face the 14th seed Slovenian, Polona Hercog, in the third round of the tournament.
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