Nadia Petrova reigns supreme over Agnieszka Radwanska to win the title – Toray Pan Pacific Open 2012
World number three, Agnieszka Radwanska, couldn’t repeat the heroics of the last year performance at the Toray Pan Pacific Open final on Saturday. She fall victim to the surprising entry of Nadia Petrova who was seeded 17th
in the tournament. It was a classic encounter lasting an hour and 41 minutes at the hard courts of Tokyo; witnessing a three-setter that ended in favour of the 18th ranked Russian with the final score line of 6-0, 1-6, 6-3.
At the prize distribution ceremony, Petrova said, “I played great in the first set but may have used too much energy, and in the second set I felt flat. It took me a while to recuperate and get back into the game. After the second
set when I went to change my clothes, I had a few minutes to think about what to focus on in the third set."
She further added, “After running out of gas in the second set, I don't know where I found the strength and willpower to fight in the third set, but I did and it feels amazing. This is the biggest tournament I've ever won.”
Radwanska failed to hold serve in the opening set and couldn’t test her opponent at all. The 30-year-old Russian grabbed the opening set in quick succession; winning it courtesy three successive breakpoints and accomplished half
of the task by sparing nothing at all for her foe.
The 23-year-old Pole took hold of the second set proceedings with a double breakthrough at the start. She led the scores 5-0 and almost replied in the most emphatic fashion possible but the Russian restored some respect by making
it a breadstick than bagel courtesy a serve hold.
No breakthroughs were witnessed for the first seven games of the final set. Petrova led the scores 4-3 with her opponent serving to equalize. However, the defending champion faltered on her serve and gifted the crucial breakpoint
to her rival that allowed Petrova to serve for the match. The Russian ended the tournament in style; smashing an ace that helped her to grab the second WTA title of the season.
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