Sabine Lisicki ousts Madison Keys in the round one – US National Indoor Tennis Championships 2013
Former world number 12, Sabine Lisicki from Germany squeaked past the American qualifier, Madison Keys, in straight sets at the US National Indoor Tennis Championships 2013 on Tuesday. She notched up a 7-5, 6-3 victory against the 18-year-old to power into
the second round at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International event taking place in Memphis, United States.
Seeded third in this event, Lisicki showed spectacular tennis skills to overpower the American teenager in their first encounter. After clinching the match, the German not only took lead in the head-to-head series by 1-0 against Keys but also stayed on track
to grab her first title of the season.
"I didn't serve too well in the beginning. But I executed at the right moments and broke her when she was serving for the first set, and everything went well from there on. I had never seen her play, so I had to get used to her style, and once I did that,
things went well."
The German star made a dismal entry and quickly went 3-5 down. However, she hit back and went on a four-game killing spree. Lisicki got the breakthrough in the last game and sealed the opener by winning seven games to five.
Ranked 40th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Lisicki lost her track and gifted way the opening game. However, she went berserk and wiped out four games in a row. The German then held her remaining serves with poise and eventually clicked the set with
a 6-3 win.
The 23-year-old jolted down a lower first serve share of 46 per cent as compared to her rival’s 52 per cent but impressively marker 22 out of 27 points on it. She committed more double faults but cashed four out of 10 break opportunities to grab the victory.
Lisicki will square off against the Hungarian contender, Melinda Czink, who battled past Russia’s Olga Puchkova in three sets to set-up this match.
Elsewhere, a qualifier Claire Feuerstein stunned the fifth seed, Lucie Hradecka from Czech Republic, in straight sets to progress at this event. She recorded a 6-3, 6-4 victory against the Czech star.
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