Tashkent Open tennis tournament: Highlights from Thursday
A total of three Russian players will play the semi final match of the $220,000 Tashkent Open tennis tournament on Friday, along with Monica Niculescu from Romania who got the better of her top seeded tennis foe, Alexandra Dulgheru
in a three setter clash on Thursday.
The fifth seeded Russian who is ranked number 81 by the association of tennis professionals, brushed aside her twenty seventh ranked tennis opponent in the time period of two hours and forty one minutes. The final match score was
7-5(5), 2-6, 6-3.
Alexandra and Monica traded a total of three breaks in the opening set to force the tie-break, which Monica grabbed during her sixth set point. A total of two breaks of serve helped Alexandra to win the second set of the match
however Monica did well to recover the momentum, confirming her first tour semi final on Thursday.
"My game is getting better match after match and tournament after tournament. This was the very first occasion that I have managed to defeat Alexandra as well as a top fifty contender so it is the biggest victory of my professional
life,” said Monica after the match.
It was a good day for the twenty one year old Evgeniya Rodina (world number 10) as she progressed to her first Tour semi final with a three setter victory over her Swiss tennis foe, Stefanie Voegele. The final match score was 6-4,
4-6, 6-0.
Next up for Evgeniya is the seventh seeded tennis player Alla Kudryavtseva who was a finalist at the Guangzhou Open last week. Alla has made her way into the semi final round of the Tashkent Open tennis tournament after getting
the better of Akgul Amanmuradova in a total of two sets. The final match score was 7-6(5,) 6-3.
Akgul led 3-0 during the opening set and 5-3 in the ensuing tie-breaker; however Alla managed to prevent a set point and advanced into the second set.
"Amanmuradova is one of my close friends however I kept all these things aside in today’s clash. I am glad to continue my form and game from Guangzhou last week and made it into the semis here,” said Alla after the match.
Meanwhile, the fourth seeded Elena Vesnina also thrashed out Darya Kustova from Belarus in a time period of forty eight minutes on Thursday. The final match score was 6-0, 6-1. Elena as a result of this victory will next meet Niculescu.
In the doubles semi final matches, Sophie Lefevre and Maria Kondratieva will face Tatiana Poutchek and Alexandra Panova where as Jill Craybas and Niculescu will meet Magdalena Rybarikova and Dulgheru.
The Indian tennis star, Sania Mirza in her doubles quarter final clash along with Maria Elena Camerin against Alexandra Dulgheru and Magdalena Rybrikova, were defeated in a total of two sets., yesterday. The final match score was
5-7, 1-6.
As a result of this loss, Mirza’s hopes of grabbing back to back WTA doubles trophies has ended in smoke. The Romania - Slovakia duo got the better of Mirza and Maria in the time period of almost one hour on Thursday.
Sania and Elena secured seventy ranking points $1650 as prize money. The Indian tennis player, Sania Mirza captured the Guangzhou International Open doubles title along with her partner Edina Gallovits from Romania, last week.
This was Mirza’s first WTA trophy in seventeen months and her ninth doubles crown overall.
Mirza after winning the Guangzhou International Open doubles title said, “I am really happy with the way I performed today. I am hoping to carry my doubles form in the singles clashes as well. All I need to do at the moment is
to keep on working hard and improving my game.”
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