Mirjana Lucic stuns Martinez Sanchez to enter main draw – Internationaux de Strasbourg 2012
Eighth seed qualifier, Mirjana Lucic, took down the Spanish veteran, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, in a three set thriller at the Internationaux de Strasbourg 2012 on Monday. She hit back to upset the top seed in the final qualifying round of this clay court
event taking place in Strasbourg, France.
Lucic trashed the left-handed Spaniard in their first meeting in two hours and 29 minutes. After stealing the spotlight, the Croat assertively advanced into the main draw of this event.
The world number 47 enthusiastically stepped in this WTA International tournament and held her opening serve to level the scores at 1-1. She continued hitting angled shots to pluck her remaining serves without facing any breakpoint. Martinez Sanchez got
the breakthrough in the seventh game after cashing in lone break chance and clinched the opener with a 6-4 score line.
Lucic made a fitting reply in the second set and earned the desiderated break in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. She lost her edge in the very next game but capitalised on another break chance in the eighth game to leap to a 5-3 lead. Despite squandering
her chance of serving out the set in the proceeding game, The Croat broke Martinez Sanchez’s serve for the third time in the last game and sealed the equaliser with a 7-5 win.
Ranked 119th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Lucic lost her path again towards the final set and endured the first blow in the opening game to tail at 0-1. However, she stayed calm and not only snatched her break back in the very next game but broke
the Spaniard’s serve again in the sixth game to leap to a 5-2 lead. Regardless of losing her edge at 5-4, the Croat cashed in her third break opportunity in the last game and pocketed the decider by winning six games to four.
Overall, Lucic committed 10 double faults and produced a poor first serve share of 49 per cent. However, she tremendously availed 35 out of 46 points on it and sealed the deal by bagging 106 points.
Up next for Lucic is the British ace, Anne Keothavong, in the first round.
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