Svetlana Kuznetsova defeats Tsvetana Pironkova in 2nd round – Kremlin Cup 2011
Sixth seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round of the Kremlin Cup 2011. The players took up the challenger on indoor hard courts of the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia. After one hour and fifty
two minutes the sixth seeded Russian thrashed the unseeded Bulgarian Pironkova in straight sets of 7-5, 7-5 on Thursday the 20th of October 2011.
The players were familiar with each other’s style and performance as they had contested thrice prior to this event. The last time they met was at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in 2011. On hard courts the players battled
it out and emerging victorious was Kuznetsova by bouncing back from a set down.
Initiating the first round of the match was the Bulgarian and she was quick to bag a game on her serve, she then capitalized on a breakpoint and reeled off straight two games to place herself on the scoreboard at 2-0. However,
Pironkova’s mini lead was cut short by the end of the fourth game as Kuznetsova broke back immediately in the third game and in the fourth held her serve to equalize the score at 2-2.
In the following two games the players held their serve and the scoreboard tied at 3-3. The two challengers repeated the feat and the score balanced out at 4-4 by the end of the eighth game. The players matched a blow for a blow
till the tenth game as the score has once more levelled at 5-5.
It was in the eleventh game that Pironkova double faulted on her serve and endorsed a vital breakpoint to her adversary, who was now only a game away from grabbing the opening set. As Kuznetsova served for the opening set, she
smashed a stunning crosscourt shot to bag the opening set with a 7-5 victory. She was now one up in the match and took the competitive edge over her adversary.
The second round of the match was kicked off by Pironkova and this time she was unable to hold her service game. Nevertheless, Kuznetsova not only capitalized on an early break but also held her serve to comfortably herself at
2-0 on the scoreboard. In the subsequent two games the players held serve to push the scoreboard at 3-1 with Kuznetsova leading the set.
However, Kuznetsova’s lead was cancelled out as Pironkova managed to close in on the deficit at the end of the sixth game with a hold of serve in the fifth game and then breaking her Russian adversary. Both the players managed
to bag a service game each in the following two games and at the end of the eighth game the score had once more tied at 4-4.
Matching an eye for an eye, they once more tied the score at 5-5. However, in the eleventh game Pironkova’s forehand shot went way ward and she sanctioned a breakpoint to her adversary. Mean while, the crowd cheered for Kuznetsova
and boosted her performance. She was now only a game away from victory and as she served for the match, she smashed a backhand winner to secure her victory of the set and the match.
The sixth seeded Russian was not only able to further extend her lead in the head-to-head at 4-0 but was able to secure a place in the third round of the event where Kuznetsova will be facing Estonian Kaia Kanepi.
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