Marion Bartoli outfoxes Lucie Safarova to book a spot in the quarter-finals – BNP Paribas Open 2012
French tennis icon, Marion Bartoli, ended a supreme run of the Czech contestant, Lucie Safarova, in the fourth round clash of the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday. It was a straight sets triumph, 6-1, 6-4, for the seventh ranked French
who took an hour and 22 minutes to put aside the Czech.
The French paced the match brilliantly in her favour. She started off slowly but stunned the Czech with a swift change in gears during the fourth game of the opening set. She broke serve to take the lead and continued the onslaught
to register another thumping breakpoint. It was a classic display of shear class that was coupled with foxy shot selection.
It was the seventh head-to-head match between the two players and Bartoli leads the tally comfortably by 6-1. The only time she faltered against the Czech was in the Malaysian Open contest last year. Other than that she has been
crushing her apart since the third round clash of the US Open 2007.
The start to the second half of the match was again depressing for the Czech who went a break down early in the first game. The French consolidated the lead with a serve hold. Safarova kept in the hunt for a breakthrough but wasn’t
able to convert the only allotted opportunity in the third game. If she had fought back into the contest and levelled the scores at that time, there might have been a chance of a remarkable turnaround in the match.
A cunning display from the French that witnessed minimal unforced errors and classy drop shots helped her to reign over the Czech and more importantly place a berth in the quarter-finals in Indian Wells. It might be look a straight
forward triumph considering the score line but Safarova deserved better. She resisted for long but wasn’t able to handle the fiery serves of her opponent that led to her downfall.
Marion Bartoli is drawn against the Serb former world number one, Ana Ivanovic, in the battle for the semi-final spot. Ivanovic scuttled past the defending champion, Caroline Wozniacki, to book a date with the French.
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