Marion Bartoli vs. Tamira Paszek: Semi-final preview – AEGON International 2012
AEGON International has now come to just four contenders and only one will be crowned as the champion at this Wimbledon warm-up event in Eastbourne, United Kingdom. World number nine, Marion Bartoli of France, is rated as the hot favourite for winning the championship title and she will face the 21-year-old surprise candidate from Austria, Tamira Paszek, in the semi-final round.
The thrilling contest will be played on the grass courts of the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club on Friday, with the winner of the match earning a title shot in the final on Saturday afternoon. The AEGON International has proved to be the tournament of upsets so far, with a number of big guns being eliminated from the competition in the initial rounds. Likes of Paszek and Klara Zakopalova has stunned the tennis fans in this event and it seems to be anyone’s game when the action begins in Eastbourne.
Three of the top seeded contenders, Agnieszka Radwanska, Petra Kvitova and Caroline Wozniacki, fell in the very first round of the tournament, leaving an open field for lower ranked contestants to have shot at glory. However, the fourth seeded French power house, Bartoli, has remained the most dominating force in the championship and has annihilated every opponent she faced in straight sets. She is 23-13 this season and is ever-hungry for her maiden title in the running professional circuit. No doubt she is the highest seeded contestant left in the draw and it makes her the hot favourite for winning AEGON International but the abilities and struggle of Paszek are not to be ignored.
Currently holding the 59th spot in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Rankings, Paszek came under the lime light when she outplayed the eighth seeded Slovak veteran, Daniela Hantuchova, in the second round. She then went on to hunt down the Bulgarian number one, Tsvetana Pironkova, in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4, in the quarter-finals to book a date with Bartoli for the title match.
Paszek has been in a terrible form this season, winning five matches and losing on 13 occurrences till date. She had lost six off her seven recent matches while coming to Eastbourne and was among the underdog contestants in the tournament. Her sudden rise of form during the AEGON International has surprised everyone and the 21-year-old Austrian is now anticipated to give some tough time to Bartoli in the semis. She had already suffered a cracking 6-2, 6-1, defeat at the hands of the French veteran but it was back in 2007 at the Generali Ladies Linz in Austria. Paszek looks a whole new different package at the moment and her winning impetus in Eastbourne might pose some serious threat to Bartoli on Friday.
"Footwork is absolutely the key," Bartoli said after her quarter-final victory. "If you get late to the ball you have absolutely no chance, because the ball scoops to the court and you're hitting backwards all the time. You're hitting late. It's really not what you want to do on grass.”
Now that is something Paszek needs to target in the semi-final brawl if she desires any success against the Frenchwoman. She has to keep Bartoli on her toes all the time and win points by outsmarting her clever footwork. Albeit the Austrian youngster is riding a sublime form at the moment, Bartoli remains the favourite for winning the semi-final battle in straight sets.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Tags: