Nuria Llagostera Vives clears the first round qualifiers at the BNP Paribas Open
The 30-year-old Spanish veteran, Nuria Llagostera Vives defeated eighteenth seed Czech, Sandra Zahlavova in the opening round qualifiers of the BNP Paribas Open in Indiana Wells, California on Monday. It proved to be a hard fought victory for the Spanish,
taking almost two hours of struggle to settle the final score at 2-6, 6-3 and 6-4.
Vives made a tremendous come-back in the game after dropping the first set of the match. She was sloppy to start the contest but gradually caught up pace to overcome her competitor. Zahlavova got the initial momentum but kept losing steam as the match progressed.
The opening set proved to be an error-ridden one for Vives, as the 30-year-old hit plenty of errant shots long and wide, including four double faults. Zahlavova capitalised upon the weakness of her opponent and raced to 5-2 in the opener. The Czech served
out of the set at 6-2, taking 1-0 lead in the match.
The following set witnessed an abrupt momentum swing, as the Spanish began to play more aggressively. She uplifted her first serve to 66 per cent and won 17 out of 21 points on it. Vives broke her opponent’s serve in the second set, taking a 3-1 lead. She
lost two break chances in the fifth game while the Czech held her serve to make the score 3-4.
The Spanish kept spilling double-faults in the second set as well, totalling eight for the contest. Zahlavova missed three opportunities to break her opponent and had to pay the price later. A crucial serve break at 5-3 sealed the second set in favour of
Vives, levelling the contest with one set a piece.
The decisive set kicked off with both players adopting aggressive strategies. Zahlavova registered the first break point in the third game, only to be broken in the very next. The tide turned when Vives stung a crucial serve break to have a chance to serve
for the match at 5-3. The Spanish squandered two match points, but crafted another two at 6-4. Vives availed the second chance to conclude an emphatic victory at 6-4, making it to the second round of qualifiers.
Vives will be facing Olga Savchuk of Ukraine in the next round. Savchuk won her match against the fifth seeded qualifier Evgeniya Rodina of Russia 7-6, 2-6 and 6-1 to make it into the second round.
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