Urszula Radwanska upsets Daniela Hantuchova in the opener – Mercury Insurance Open 2012
Pole tennis prodigy, Urszula Radwanska, registered yet another upset in the running season by dumping the 32nd ranked Slovak veteran, Daniela Hantuchova, in the opening round of Mercury Insurance Open on Monday. The
world number 48 registered a 6-4, 7-5, victory over the 6th seed contender to reach the round of 16 at the outdoor hard court event in Carlsbad, California, USA.
Radwanska has been the real surprise package this season, defeating a number of superior ranked opponents to break into the Top-50. The 21-year-old had already suffered two defeats from Hantuchova, with the most recent one coming
at the PTT Pattaya Open this year, and was rated as the underdog in Monday’s encounter as well. She beat all the odds once again and registered her 31st victory of the running season, improving 1-2 against the Slovak tennis ace.
The Pole youngster bettered the number six seed in every segment of the game and gave her limited chances to get on the top. Radwanska’s 63per cent precise first serve included six thudding aces and she clinched 35 out of 44 points
on it to come out as the surprise winner. She crafted a total of 11 break opportunities in the match but only three conversions proved sufficient for her to drive the sixth seeded Slovak out of the tournament. On the other hand, Hantuchova could barely come
up with lone break point out of her five chances to finish on the losing side in the end.
The opening set witnessed just one break point which came from Radwanska in the fifth game, giving her a 4-2 lead subsequently. She held her remaining serves in the set and sealed the opener at 6-4 to get one up in the match.
Hantuchova had a much aggressive start to the following set, breaking the Pole serve early to lead 2-0 but Radwanska retaliated immediately to draw the scores level at 2-2. A regular game took the scores to 5-5 and it appeared
as if a tie breaker round was about to come into play but a crucial break of serve in the 11th game from the unseeded Pole contender changed the course of the match. Radwanska broke into 6-5 lead and then served out of the match with the final score
of 7-5 to reach the second round of the tournament.
Radwanska will face the winner of the opening round clash between Romanian Sorana Cirstea and Sloane Stephens later this week.
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