Nadia Petrova dispatches Jarmila Gajdosova in round one – US Open 2012
World number 22, Nadia Petrova, fought well against the 99th ranked Aussie professional, Jarmila Gajdosova, to clear the opening round of the US Open in New York. She clinched the first set 6-3 and went on to win the
second set tie-breaker 7-6(3) to drive away the 25-year-old Aussie out of the competition.
It was a pure old-style tennis match with both players capitalizing on their serves. Only one breakthrough was witnessed throughout the encounter and that was grabbed by the tall Russian powerhouse, Petrova.
It was only the second game of the match and the Aussie is known for her lack of control at the start of the encounter. She always commenced the match in nervy fashion but improves her play as she grows into the clash.
In the opening set, Petrova took a lead of 3-0 courtesy an early breakthrough and retained that lead throughout. She wasn’t tested at all on her serves but her rival who was close on losing another breakthrough in the eighth game
of the match. However, Gajdosova did well to survive the breakpoint but she was unable to break her opponent’s serve and diminish the trail.
The second set started with a spot of bother for the Aussie starlet who was struggling to hold serve. However, the sloppy returns from the 30-year-old Russian made her life a bit easier and she finally grabbed the first game; denying
any early lead to her rival as she did in the first set.
There was no pressure at all on either player in the following serve games until the scores reached 5-5. The Russian was close on breaking her rival’s serve in the following game but she squandered two more breakpoints that kept
the hope of Aussie intact.
A tie-breaker round was enforced after the Russian veteran eased herself to another serve hold. With the pressure more on the Aussie starlet who was trailing a set down, the life of the Russian was relatively easier at the hard
courts of New York. She won the first mini-break with a cracking winner and rounded off the match proceedings with a thunderous serve hold.
Petrova plays Simona Halep in round two.
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