Svetlana Kuznetsova/ Vera Zvonareva routed Alexandra Dulgheru/ Magdalena Rybrikova at Sony Ericsson Open doubles
Russian wildcard pair of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva outclassed the duo of Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania and Magdalena Rybrikova of Slovakia in the opening round of the doubles category of the Sony Ericsson Open at Miami,
Florida on Thursday night. The Russians wrapped up the straight sets victory 6-4, 6-2, taking just 62 minutes of play.
It was a fairly one-sided contest with the Russian pair dominating most of the time in the contest. Kuznetsova and Zvonareva were very aggressive in their approach towards the game and gave away minimum opportunities to their competitors
to bounce back in the game. They combined their efforts magnificently to outplay their opponents to advance to the second round at Miami.
The winning pair kept the rallies short by hitting elegant cross-court winners on regularity. Kuznetsova and Zvonareva served out with 69 percent accuracy in the match, conceding just one double fault and firing one ace. Their
agility was phenomenal in the contest and the two Russians supported each other very well to take down the opponents.
Both pair of contestants had an aggressive start to the opener, exerting pressure upon their opponents with attacking moves. Dulgheru and Rybarikova missed out some easy net points, hitting the ball wide of the court and letting
their rivals to take the better of them. They clinched two break points in the opening set but the Russian duo replied with the same, levelling the scores to 4-4.
A crucial serve break put Kuznetsova and Zvonareva in the commanding lead of 5-4, serving for the set. The Russian pair sealed off the first set at 6-4 when Rybarikova thumped a forehand into the net. A total of 62 points were
played in the opener with Kuznetsova and Zvonareva collecting 35 and their opponents bagging 27 of them.
The Russian pair raised their first serve accuracy to an impressive 76 per cent in the next set and broke early to lead 3-1. The world number three Zvonareva converted some juicy net volleys into to thumping cross-court winners
through the open cracks between the opponents and took her side to 5-2 after stinging a second serve break.
Dulgheru and Rybarikova had two opportunities to break the opponents’ serve but they frittered away both chances to remain on the back foot in the game. 42 total points were played in the second set with Dulgheru and Rybarikova
winning just 13 and the rest of 29 being bagged by the Russian team. Kuznetsova and Zvonareva eventually closed out the contest at 6-2 to make it to the second round of the doubles category at Sony Ericsson Open.
The Russian Duo will be facing the Spanish pair of Martinez Sanchez and Anabel Medina Garrigues in the next round of the competition. The Spaniards outplayed the pair of Natalie Grandin of South Africa and Vladimira Uhlirova in
the first round.
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