Sania Mirza/ Elena Vesnina upset Gisela Dulko/ Flavia Pennetta in quarterfinal – French Open 2011
Indian Russian pair of Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina upset the top seeded Argentine-Italian pair of Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta in straight sets 6-0, 7-5 in the quarterfinal of 2011 French Open at the Stade Roland Garros in
Paris, France on Monday. The Indian-Russian pair needed only one hour and eight minutes to send their opponents packing.
The second set of the match was comparatively tough than the first one, although both were easy wins for the Indian-Russian duo. Seeded seventh, Mirza and Vesnina easily raced through the opening set with a bagel win as Dulko and
Pennetta struggled to cope with pressure on the red stuff.
However, the second set did not follow the same pattern. The Argentine and Italian pair of Dulko and Pennetta took the control of the second set, moving into a 5-0 lead and this time not letting the advantage slip as these two
women forced the match into a battle of attrition. But their opponents had some other plans, as they immediately responded by reeling off five games in a row to stamp their authority on the contest. That proved to be the turning point as Pennetta and Dulko
would not win another game, with their opponent’s ground strokes proving too much for the top seeded pair. Mirza and Vesnina closed out the set at 7-5.
The Indian-Russian duo wrapped up their clean effort by scoring 23 points more than their opponent in total. Moreover, they racked up 59 percent of points on their service, 58 percent of points on return and a number of 71 points
in total. By contrast their opponents lagged behind in every segment of the game could not fend off upset. Dulko and Pennetta scored a meagre 46 percent on their service, 39 percent on return and a number of 48 points in total.
With their victory, Mirza and Vesnina move into the semi-final of the event where they very well might be on their way to their first doubles title at French Open.
Next up for Mirza and Vesnina is either the American pair of Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond or the Belarusian Russian pair of Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko. The Indian-Russian duo is yet to drop a set and some of their biggest
obstacles are out of the way with early eliminations. Until their future opponents prove otherwise, Mirza and Vesnina are the favourite going into the semi-final. Their future opponents might delight the crowd by displaying some blooming shots, but the Indian-Russian
duo should make their way to the round of four.
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