Samantha Murray prevailed over Nudnida Luangnam in the quarter-finals – Dunlop World Challenger 2012
British challenger, Samantha Murray, consolidated his win against the Thai professional, Nudnida Luangnam, in an exciting three-set thriller on the Taraflex courts of 2012 Dunlop World Challenge Tennis Tournament. She nudged up
to grab a 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4, score line in the quarter-finals on Friday.
The 25-year-old, Luangnam, was unable to hold her initial serve in the opener, which made the scenario tougher. The British challenger took the lead, confidently drawing the first blood and cashed on her rival’s serve in the third
game. She clearly dominated the game with her powerful grip on the forehand and backhands, crumbling her opponent’s assurance. Luangnam was unable to put forward a strong battle and ultimately Murray jumped forward to close the opening set with a 6-2 lead.
Ranked 213th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Luangnam avenged her former loss against the lower ranked rival. For the initial part of the second set, the British challenger sustained her lead and cashed on her competitor’s
serve in the fifth game, marking a 3-2 lead. This aroused an alarming situation for the other competitor, as the Thai professional desperately battled in order to secure the front line. She beautifully caught up with the score line and squared it down to 5-all
in the 10th game. The tough competition concluded the set with a tiebreaker. Eventually, the Thai contender emerged as the victorious champion after a close tiebreaker round 7-6(5).
In the final set, the right-hander, Murray, busted Luangnam’s initial serve without facing any real challenge and engraved a 2-0 lead. Nonetheless, the Thai did not give up, despite of her sloppy start, levelling down the score
line to 2-all in the fourth game. The pattern continued throughout the decider and two players continuously oscillated the lead between one another by cashing on each other’s serves. Murray jumped up and swiftly grabbed the last two games and did not give
her challenger a single chance to succeed. She skilfully terminated the decider with a remarkable 6-4 win.
World number 288, Murray, thundered forward with 59 percent initial serve precision firing six aces. She converted 35 of 55 of first and 20 and 39 second serve points. On the other hand, the Thai participant secured 75 percent
first serve but double faulted six times, with one ace and completely lost her lead. She grabbed away 33 of 65 first but just nine of 22 second serve points in retaliation.
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