Nigina Abduraimova upsets Olga Savchuk to enter round two – Ankara Cup 2012
Uzbekistani challenger, Nigina Abduraimova, shocked the Ukrainian contestant, Olga Savchuk, in straight sets at the Ankara Cup 2012 Tuesday. She nudged up a 7-6(5), 7-5 victory against the Ukrainian to power into the round of 16 at this ITF (International Tennis Federation) Women’s Circuit event taking place in Ankara, Turkey.
The Uzbekistani teenager displayed brilliant skills to outsmart Savchuk in their first encounter. After sealing the deal in almost one and a half hour, Abduraimova comfortably progressed into the second round at this indoor hard court event taking place from 17th to 23rd December.
Abduraimova made a convincing entry at the Ankara Tennis Club. She capitalised on an early break opportunity and jumped to a 3-1 lead. The Uzbek lost her edge afterward but availed another break chance to put her nose ahead. Despite levelling the scores in the last game, Abduraimova dominated in the tie-breaker and eventually sealed the opener with a 7-6(5) win.
Ranked 326th in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Rankings, Abduraimova maintained consistency in her game in the following set. After exchanging an early break, she remained focused and swiped her remaining serves with poise. The Uzbek got the breakthrough in the last game and subsequently clinched the set with a 7-5 score line.
On the whole, the Uzbek dusted away five out of eight breakpoints she came across and converted four out of six break opportunities to prevail. She committed fewer double faults and manifested a better first serve share.
Next up for Abduraimova is the fifth seed, Marta Sirotkina, who outshined Ukrainian’s Yuliya Beygelzimer, in straight sets to set up this meeting. The Russian seed kept her entire serves with poise and broke her rival’s serve four times to advance.
The Russian starlet, Yuliya Kalabina, will join the Uzbek in the round of 16. She required three sets to shock her fellow qualifier, Kristina Barrois, to progress. The Russian lost her concentration in the second set and equalised the set scores. However, she remained focused and subsequently sealed the deal with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 score line in almost two and half hours.
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