Samantha Stosur loses to Maria Kirilenko in 2nd round – China Open 2011
2011 US Open Champion Samantha Stosur lost to unseeded Maria Kirilenko in the second round of the China Open 2011. Russian Kirilenko battled it out on outdoor hard courts of the National Tennis Center for two hours and nine minutes
and finally brought the world number 7 Stosur back to earth by surviving a mid match lapse of 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 on Tuesday the 4th of October.
Australian Stosur opened the first round of the match as she had decided to serve first after winning the toss and both the players expertly won on their service games in the two games. The scoreboard had rolled to 1-1 by the end
of the second game, in the third game Stosur held her serve and then capitalized on a mini break and rotated the scoreboard at 3-1. She further increased the gap by again holding her serve in the fourth game.
During the following three games, Kirilenko broke Stosur once and by holding two service games she was able to bring the scoreboard to a tie at 4-4. The players again won on alternate games and rounded the score at 5-5. By the
eleventh game Kirilenko used the break-serve method, and by breaking Stosur, she was now only a game point away. Kirilenko played a big backhand crosscourt shot in the twelfth game and sealed her opening set victory.
The second set was opened by Stosur and she held her serve in the first game and trailing behind her was Kirilenko as she too won on her service game, the scoreboard rolled at 1-1. In the next game Stosur held serve and by the
fourth she capitalized on the first breakpoint to take a lead of 4-1.
By the end of the fifth game the scoreboard read as 4-1 for Stosur and as she again broke Kirilenko in the sixth game, she was now looking to serve for the set. By holding her service game in the last game, she clogged the set
with a breadstick victory.
The decisive set was opened by Kirilenko and she not only held her serve but also broke her opponent in the second game, and by the third was leading with a 3-0. Stosur was finally able to hold in the fourth game and reduced the
deficit to 3-1. In the following four games the two won on alternate games and rolled the scoreboard at 5-3.
In the ninth game Stosur broke Kirilenko and in the tenth as she held serve, she tied the score at 5-5 and at this point the game could’ve tilted either way. Kirilenko held serve in the eleventh and as she broke Stosur in the twelfth,
she bagged a 7-5 score t o seal her victory of the match and reserve a spot in the third round of the event.
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