Nadia Petrova downs Vesna Dolonts; breezes into the second round – Wimbledon Championships 2011
In an all-Russian duel, Nadia Petrova triumphed over Vesna Dolonts in straight sets to advance into the second round of the Wimbledon Championships 2011, third of the fourth Grand Slam event held in London, England. She earned
a 6-3, 6-4 victory over her 21-year-old compatriot on Tuesday.
A former world number three, Petrova overpowered her countrywoman in seventy-one minutes to secure a second round spot at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on their first meeting.
29-year-old Petrova nervously entered SW-19 as she committed nine unforced errors and produced a lower first serve share of 52 percent as compared to Dolonts’ 62 percent. However, the Russian registered a spectacular 87 percent
win on it and converted one out of three breakpoint chances to her advantage to win the opener with a 6-3 score line in thirty-three minutes.
Ranked 37th in the Sony Ericsson WTA Premier rankings, Petrova played with a similar way in the final set as she again produced a lower first serve share and committed many unforced errors i.e. ten to Dolonts’ two. She
covered it by earning an amazing 89 percent win on it and hit twenty powerful winners. Petrova saved the only breakpoint faced and converted one out of five breakpoint opportunities to her advantage to seal the final set with a 6-4 win.
The higher ranked Russian made the only quarter-final berth at Strasbourg before losing to sixth seeded Slovak Daniela Hantuchova. She was standing on a three match losing streak but snapped out from it in this major grass court
tournament after earning this success.
Dolonts, on the other hand, was comparatively in a better shape. She reached the third round of Australian Open through qualifiers and then made a semi-final berth at Saint-Gaudens ITF event. However, the lower ranked Russian couldn’t
re-create her magic in this Grand Slam and exited from the opening round.
Petrova will next face another compatriot, fourteenth seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who warded off late resistance by the Ukrainian qualifier, Lesia Tsurenko to win in straight sets.
19-year-old Pavlyuchenkova overwhelmed the Ukrainian by exchanging an early break and then converting another breakpoint opportunity to her advantage in the end to clinch the opener with a 6-4 victory. She saved eight out of nine
breakpoints conceded and converted two out of three breakpoint chances to her advantage.
She kept momentum flowing into the final set and converted one out of four breakpoint opportunities to her advantage. However, the Russian failed to save the only breakpoint faced and dragged the set to a tie-breaker. The teenager
dominated in it to eventually bag the set with a 7-6(3) win.
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