Russians reigned supreme in the quarter-final rounds – London Olympics 2012
Day 6 at the All England Lawn Tennis Club witnessed some huge matches among the top class players and the quarter-final rounds of the Olympic Games begun. Four contenders have made it to the semis but the highlight of the day was
some breathtaking performances from the Russian players.
Former world number one, Maria Sharapova, displayed yet another exhibition of sheer class and domination to outmuscle the other former top ranked Belgian, Kim Clijsters, in the quarters. It was one of the highly anticipated contest
of the day and the unseeded Clijsters was expected to register an upset victory against the reigning world number three, Sharapova.
Clijsters bettered the Russian beauty queen in some segments of the game but the vital difference between the two lied in the number of break points being converted. The Belgian came up with two out of her five opportunities, whilst
Sharapova nailed five out of nine serve breaks to come out as the dominating winner.
"I knew I had to step it up today and stay extra focused," Sharapova said. "Kim is such a tough competitor. Obviously she has won so many Grand Slams. She has endless experience. We've always had difficult matches, and I was really
happy I was able to step it up today, compared to my previous matches here. An opponent like Kim can obviously turn the match around at any time."
Sharapova will have to face her fellow compatriot, Maria Kirilenko, in the semi-final draw. The 14th seeded Russian registered a big upset in the quarter-final round by outplaying the hot favourite world number six,
Petra Kvitova, in straight sets, 7-6(3), 6-3.
Kvitova was the hot favourite for winning the battle but her error-ridden game play provided ample chances to her Russian opponent to capitalise. Only one serve break was witnessed in the entire matchup and it came from the racket
of the Russian winner in the second set of the match. Kvitova utterly failed to even craft a single break opportunity in the entire matchup, eventually finishing on the losing side.
"It's a dream," Kirilenko said. "I had some tactics to play today and I did everything I planned, and it went well. I'm so happy with this result. Match point was a tricky point. There were some lucky shots from both sides, and
when you're getting close to winning of course you have some nerves."
While the two Russians combat in the semi-final round to earn a title shot, world number one, Victoria Azarenka booked a Wimbledon Championships rematch against Serena Williams in the round of four.
Tags: