Mirjana Lucic ousts Gisela Dulko in the qualifiers – Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2012
Another gruelling competition was witnessed in the qualifying draw of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, as the 30-year old Croatian veteran, Mirjana Lucic, overwhelmed the Argentine starlet, Gisela Dulko, on Sunday afternoon. The
113th ranked Croat competitor bagged the three-set thriller at 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-4, to earn a spot in the main draw of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier 5 event in Rome, Italy.
The taxing battle lasted for two hours and 39 minutes, with both opponents exhibiting a quality display of clay-court tennis to stretch each other to their limits. The overall match statistics doesn’t show much difference between
the two players but it was the sheer brilliance and points converting proficiency of the Croatian contender which prevailed in the contest to take her to victory. Lucic overcame the solid resistance from the Argentine opponent and kept winning crucial points
throughout the matchup to conclude her much needed victory.
Lucic’s 64 per cent precise first serve included nine thudding aces but 10 double faults frittered away her advantage in the game. She clinched 44 out of 75 first serve points, while Dulko bettered her with 46 out of 78 points
in the contest. The vital difference was witnessed in the number of serve breaks being registered from both ends. The two contenders had 14 break opportunities apiece in the match, with Dulko converting four and her Croat opponent cashed in six chances en
route to victory.
Dulko broke her opponent’s serve in the very first game of the match to lead 2-0 but an immediate counterattack from Lucic turned the tide on her opponent. The Croatian nailed two successive break points in the fourth and sixth
games to lead 4-2. She held her remaining serves to seal the opening set convincingly at 6-3 to get one up early in the match.
The following set witnessed an early trade of serve breaks, followed by a conventional game to take the scores to 6-6. A tie-breaker round came into play and intense tennis continued between the two contenders. Dulko was fighting
desperately to stay alive in the competition and she finally secured a coveted mini-break to pocket the second set at 7-6(7).
The Argentine continued with her winning impetus in the final set and raced away to 2-0 early. She dropped her serve in the sixth and eighth game to fall back at 3-5 but broke her opponent once again in the ninth game to close
the score gap. Lucic delivered the death blow in the 10th game to seal victory at 6-4, getting into the main draw of the Rome Masters in style.
Tags: