Nina Bratchikova outshines Iva Mekovec to reach round two – Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge 2012
Third seed, Nina Bratchikova from Russia, triumphed over the Croatian wild card entrant, Iva Mekovec, in straight sets at the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge 2012 on Monday. She jolted down a 6-3, 6-4 victory against the 17-year-old to power into the second
round at this outdoor hard court tournament taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The seeded Russian brought her experience into handy and ultimately carved out the victory in almost one hour. After registering this success in their first encounter, Bratchikova comfortably secured a place in the round of 16 at this ITF (International
Tennis Federation) Women’s Circuit tournament taking place from 26th November to 2nd December.
Bratchikova made a strong entry at the Habtoor Grand Beach Resort and Spa. She drew the first blood in the second game and jumped to a 3-0 lead. The Russian then held her composure and swiped her remaining serves with poise. Bratchikova cashed the lone break
opportunity she sought and warded off all three breakpoints she came across.
Ranked 81st in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Rankings, Bratchikova kept momentum sailing in the following set. She got the coveted break early on and took the initial lead. Despite losing her edge in the very next game, the Russian
capitalised on another break chance in the third game and put her nose ahead once again. She swiped her remaining serves with conviction and clinched the set with a 6-4 score line.
The 27-year-old is coming from a final eight showing at the Royal Indian Open, a WTA Challenger event held in Pune earlier this month. She bowed out to the former Top 10, Andrea Petkovic, in brutal straight sets before entering in Dubai.
Bratchikova will face off the conqueror of an all-Thai match between Tamarine Tanasugarn and Nudnida Luangnam.
Elsewhere, the sixth seed Elina Svitolina stole the spotlight. She devastated the Russian challenger, Vera Dushevina, with a bagel to reach this spot. The Ukrainian seed reeled off last seven games to carve out the victory with a 6-4, 6-0 score line. She
kept her entire serves with poise and broke her opponent’s serve four times to rule the battle.
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