Nadia Petrova bounces over Roberta Vinci to enter final showdown – Tournament of Champions 2012
Russian star, Nadia Petrova, made an epic comeback from a set down to outshine the fourth seed, Roberta Vinci from Italy, in a three-set thriller at the Qatar Airways Tournament of Champions 2012 on Saturday. She summed up a 6-7(8), 6-1, 6-4 victory against
the 29-year-old to charge into the title-round at this circuit finale taking place in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The former world number three, Petrova re-ignited his spark after losing the opening set. She eventually sought her rhythm and carved out the victory with a breadstick in their fifth meeting. After earning the fame in two hours and 42 minutes, the Russian
avenged her loss at the Estoril Open earlier this circuit and took lead in the head-to-head series by 3-2 against Vinci.
The world number 16, Vinci high-spiritedly entered the Armeets Arena. She blocked the lone breakpoint she faced to keep her entire serves. The Italian squandered all five break chances but dominated in the tie-breaker, eventually sealing the opener with
a 7-6(8) score line.
Seeded second in this event, Petrova unveiled her true class in the following set. After Vinci held her serve in the second game, the Russian unleashed flurry of groundstrokes and wiped out the last five games and clinched the equaliser with a breadstick.
Currently ranked 12th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Petrova maintained consistency in her game in the final set. She dusted away all three breakpoints she came across to keep her entire serves. The Russian got the breakthrough in the ninth game
and sealed the decider by winning six games to four.
Petrova will square off against the former world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, in the title round. She is bidding to give her all in the final round and stated:
“To win matches like this feels amazing. It doesn't matter what happens now, I'm going to let it all out tomorrow. It's the last match of the year then I'll be out of energy, and in the off-season I'll know I gave it my all."
The top seeded Dane devastated the local star, Tsvetana Pironkova, with a breadstick to set up this date.
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