Roberta Vinci takes down Heather Watson to reach the quarter-finals – AEGON Classic 2012
This year’s doubles French Open champion, Roberta Vinci, had to overcome a scare from the British tennis prodigy, Heather Watson, before hunting her down in the third round of the AEGON Classic tournament on Thursday. The fourth
seed Italian battled for one hour and 37 minutes to settle the three-setter at 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, earning a spot in the quarter-final round of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International Tour-level event in Birmingham, England.
The world number 20, Vinci, has been in pretty decent form this season and rides a 19-14 winning record till date. The Italian veteran took off the Thursday’s contest with aggression and quickly stamped her authority over the game
by begging the opening set comprehensively. She was stunned by an all-round onslaught from the 20-year-old Brit, who came from behind to pocket the second set. A fierce battle was expected in the decisive set but it proved to be an all-Italian show, with Vinci
dominating every minute of it to conclude her victory with a breadstick.
"It was only my second match on grass this year. I didn't play badly, but I could have played better," Vinci said. "In the second set I had chances to break her but she would play more aggressive in those moments - but then in
the third set I was more aggressive and started coming into the net a lot more. We have zero grass courts in Italy, but I like playing on grass. I play slice all the time on my backhand, which is great for this surface. I'm playing in 's-Hertogenbosch too
and hope to get to know the grass better for Wimbledon."
111th ranked Watson has been one of the most promising talents Britain has produced in recent years. The 20-year-old has been superb throughout the tournament but couldn’t deliver her best against the Italian veteran.
She showed some spark in the middle parts of the contest but couldn’t hold on to her impetus in the final moments of the match and eventually finished on the losing side in the end.
Vinci will play her quarter-final battle against the Chinese qualifier, Jie Zheng, on Friday.
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