Olga Puchkova topples Daria Gavrilova to clear the first qualifier – Tashkent Open 2012
In an All-Russian contest, Olga Puchkova toppled the 18-year-old Daria Gavrilova to book a spot in the second qualifying round of the Tashkent Open. The 24-year-old Puchkova is the top seed contestant; bagging the first win in
straight sets 6-1, 6-4.
There was no history between the two players. They were contesting each other for the first time in their professional career and the 143rd ranked Russian made no mistake in ousting her compatriot who has a lot to learn
to be successful at the elite platform. Gavrilova is currently ranked 246th in the world.
Puchkova commenced the match in emphatic fashion; winning the first game after an initial setback of two points. She carried the momentum into the second game and bagged the first breakpoint of the match. Situation looked favourable
for the 24-year-old Russian who successfully sheltered the breakthrough with a serve hold and posted a resounding lead of 3-0.
The onslaught didn’t end at that point. Puchkova allowed just one point to her rival before clinching the second breakpoint on the trot and that gave her an unassailable lead of 4-0 upfront. Gavrilova was clearly struggling to
extract anything out of the match; failed to win a single point on her compatriot’s third serve game that drowned her to a massive trail of 0-5.
Somehow, the Russian squeezed an orthodox serve hold and denied her opponent from posting a resounding bagel. Nothing else went to the way of the 18-year-old Russian. Just seven games into the match and the senior Russian was already
leading the set scores by one nil.
The start to the second set wasn’t different from the opening. The top seeded Russian won two breakpoints on the trot to virtually diminish any possibility of a comeback. However, her opponent was able to break serve back in the
fourth game and lowered the trail of 1-3.
Four breakpoints were contested in succession that kept the lead of the 143rd ranked Russian intact. Gavrilova saved the match by holding her serve but failed to break serve in the following game and lost the encounter.
Olga Puchkova and Polina Pekhova will play the second qualifier against each other.
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