Sorana Cirstea overpowers the injury-stricken Vera Zvonareva in the quarters – PTT Pattaya Open 2012
Romanian star, Sorana Cirstea, earned a 2-6, 6-4, 2-2 retirement victory against the top seed Vera Zvonareva at the PTT Pattaya open 2012 on Friday. The Russian was serving in the fifth game of the final set when she felt severe pain and ultimately retired
from this quarter-final clash at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International event held in Pattaya City, Thailand.
In a match which saw several exchange of serve breaks, the seventh seeded Romanian earned the spotlight after Zvonareva was forced to retire in the final set. Cirstea not only levelled the head-to-head series by 1-1 against the Russian but also booked a
spot in the final four.
World number eight, Zvonareva made quick in-roads and cruised to a 5-1 lead with two breaks of serve. Apart from losing her serve in the following game, the Russian capitalised on another break chance and clinched the opener with a 6-2 score line
Ranked 54th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Cirstea redeployed her strategy in the follow-up set. She earned the desiderated break in the third game and took lead for the first time in this set. Regardless of losing her edge in the very next game,
she cashed in another break opportunity in the fifth game and then kept her remaining serves to seal the equaliser with a 6-4 win.
Cirstea let her spark lit in the final set and got the critical break in the opening game. She lost her serve in the very next game but held her composure in the fourth game to square the scores at 2-2.
The Russian was serving in the fifth game when she suffered the injury blow, eventually retiring from the tournament.
As a result, the 21-year-old Cirstea advanced into the next round where she will confront the winner of the match between the fourth seed, Maria Kirilenko, and Tamarine Tanasugarn.
Earlier, the Taiwanese qualifier, Su-Wei Hsieh, stunned the Indian star, Sania Mirza, in straight sets to secure this spot. Hsieh defended seven out of 10 breakpoints she came across and broke Mirza’s serve five times to seal the deal with a 7-5, 6-3 score
line.
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