Pan Pacific: Kimiko Date Krumm to meet Francesca Schiavone in third round
Kimiko Date Krumm celebrated her 40th birthday after beating Daniela Hantuchova in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Tuesday.
Kimiko was leading Daniela Hantuchova 2-6, 6-0 and 4-0, when her fellow former top five tennis contender was forced to withdraw due to a shoulder injury. Date Krumm was in complete control of the match at that stage and thus registered her name as the first
female tennis player in her 40’s to triumph in a main draw at a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour-level competition since Wimbledon 2004, when Martina Navratilova accomplished the feat.
"I am very happy, especially because it's my 40th birthday. There were many Japanese fans cheering for me; it was a special occasion. Yesterday was my last day in my thirties, so defeating Sharapova was a very big win for me. Now I am not going to put any
pressure on myself for my 40s," Date Krumm said after the match.
She came out of a 12 year retirement and still managed to beat one of the biggest tennis players on the tour. While commenting on her game, Kimiko said, "I do not have a secret. I just enjoy playing tennis. I have more experience than the younger girls,
too. I turned pro at eighteen and played for eight years, then learned many things during my break. I know when to be calm now too; for instance, after I lost the first set today, I can always put a bad point behind me and focus on the next one. Experience
can be very helpful.”
Next up for Date Krumm is the fifth seed and reigning French Open winner Francesca Schiavone, who registered a two setter victory over Alexandra Dulgheru. The final match score was 7-5, 6-3. Francesca now leads Kimiko in their head-to-head encounters 1-0,
winning their only previous clash in the opening round at Indian Wells this season.
While commenting on Schiavone, Kimiko was of the view that she simply has nothing to lose against her as she is the hot favourite to win the match. However, Kimiko will also try her level best to perform well against the Roland Garros champion.
Elsewhere, top seed Caroline Wozniacki also triumphed, surpassing Greta Arn in two sets. The final match score was 6-1, 6-3. As a result of this victory, Caroline will now meet sixteen seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Pan Pacific Open Women’s tennis
tournament in Tokyo. Caroline leads Anastasia in their head-to-head encounters 4-0, never losing a single set to the player.
"She likes to take the ball early and play aggressively. I need to be ready. It is a fast court so I'll try to be the one who decides the points,” Wozniacki said of her next round opponent after the match on Tuesday.
There were a few upsets on the third day of the Tokyo competition, with Julia Goerges defeating fourth seed Samantha Stosur 7-5, 6-3. Meanwhile, Andrea Petkovic brushed aside Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 7-5 for her second straight victory over the two time
major winner in Tokyo. Kaia Kanepi and Coco Vandeweghe got the better of the lower seeds in the tournament. Kaia defeated thirteen seed Shahar Peer in two sets while Coco surpassing Aravane Rezai with a final match score of 6-4 ,6-4.
Eleventh seed Marion Bartoli, Roberta Vinci as well as Flavia Pennetta also secured victories and earned spots in the round of sixteen on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Vera Zvonareva, Elena Dementieva and Victoria Azarenka triumphed on Tuesday.
Tags: