Polona Hercog survives Tsvetana Pironkova to reach the semi-final – Swedish Open 2012
World number 86, Polona Hercog, bounced back a set down to oust the 62nd ranked Bulgarian, Tsvetana Pironkova, in the quarter-final of the Sony Swedish Open on the eve of Friday. She lost the opening set 3-6 but jumped
back in the encounter with a 7-5 triumph in the second set and booked a spot in the last four with a final set scores of 6-4.
Previously, the 24-year-old Bulgarian had won two head-to-head encounters. So, it was expected that the superior ranked contestant will repeat the similar performance at Bastad, Sweden as well. Moreover, the 62nd ranked
Bulgarian had won one of the two matches in the opening round of the Qatar Ladies Open in Doha this time around and it was comprehensive straight sets 6-0, 6-4 triumph.
Pironkova commenced the opening set with a serve hold. Both players capitalized on their serves for the seven games of the match before the most awaited breakthrough was accomplished by the Bulgarian in the eighth game. She led
the scores 5-3 and served successfully for the set in the following game to take a lead at the start.
Hercog was expected to bow down again in the advanced stages of the clay court tournament but she proved everyone wrong and dug deep in the second set to keep the battle alive. No breakthrough was witnessed for the first seven
games of the second set as well and both players swapped breakpoints in the following two games to keep the scores together.
However, the most wanted breakpoint was won in the 12th game of the set when the 21-year-old Slovenian smashed two cracking winners to devastate the experienced competitor. It was a sweet comeback for the 86th
ranked Slovenian who has struggled a lot throughout the season due to niggling injuries.
In the final set, both players held their serves for the first four games before the Bulgarian broke serve to take the lead. She held her serve in the following game to consolidate her position further. However, the counterattack
from the Slovenian witnessed a successful breakpoint for her in the eighth game and she clubbed the win with another breakpoint in the 10th game.
In a post-match interview, Hercog stated, "I didn't have a great record against her so I'm really happy to finally beat her. It was not an easy match and I had to fight for every point as there weren't many gifts from her."
Hercog plays the seventh seed German, Mona Barthel, in the semi-final clash.
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