Pavlyuchenkova/Safarova beat Garrigues/Shvedova in doubles final – Family Circle Cup 2012
An enthralling contest was witnessed in the doubles final of the Family Circle Cup on Sunday, with the Russian-Czech pair of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova taking down the unseeded duo of Anabel Medina Garrigues and
Yaroslava Shvedova. The wildcard pair battled for one hour and 49 minutes to register victory in three gruelling sets, 5-7, 6-4, 10-6, to lift the championship title.
Safarova also featured the singles final but she was no match to the 13-time Grand Slam winner, Serena Williams and lost in straight sets, 0-6, 1-6. The Czech claimed glory in the doubles category of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association)
Premier-level event along with her Russian partner. Pavlyuchenkova and Safarova were one-set down early in the contest but recovered with great mastery to reel off the next two sets to turn the tables on their opponents. They displayed amazing coordination
to change the course of the game and clinched the emphatic victory in the super tie-breaker round in the end.
"It's amazing," Safarova said after winning the coveted WTA title in Charleston, USA. "Nastia and I got our first wildcard in Miami and made the quarters, and here we got our second wildcard and won it. I like doubles. I really
enjoy playing doubles and it seems we fit as partners."
Garrigues and Shvedova were off to a flying start in the opening set, breaking their opponents in the third game and holding their serve to lead 3-1 right up. Pavlyuchenkova and Safarova broke back in the sixth game but another
breakthrough from their opponents in the 11th game left them helpless in the set. The Spanish and Kazakh competitors served out of the opener, bagging it at 7-5 to lead 1-0 in the match.
The proceeding set took off with an early exchange of serve breaks right away, followed by a regular game to reach 4-4. Pavlyuchenkova and Safarova delivered a crucial blow in the 10th game, sealing the set at 6-4 to
level the score line at 1-1. A super tie-breaker round came into play and the unseeded duo completely collapsed in the decider. Pavlyuchenkova and Safarova raced through the final set with ease and closed out victory at 10-6 to be declared as the doubles champions
at the Family Circle Cup.
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