Varvara Lepchenko ousts Anastasia Yakimova in the opening round – Family Circle Cup 2012
World number 77, Varvara Lepchenko of the United States, went through a taxing battle against Anastasia Yakimova in the opening round of the Family Circle Cup on Tuesday. The unseeded American battled for two hours and 57 minutes
to settle the final score line at 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, advancing into the second round of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier-level event in Charleston, USA.
It was Lepchenko’s 17th victory of the running season and the second one against Yakimova in singles encounters. The Belarusian outplayed her in their last matchup in 2010 at Dothan, USA, registering twin sets, 6-2,
6-2 but couldn’t repeat the similar sort of performance on Tuesday afternoon. The home favourite went through her in three sets to level the head-to-head record at 2-2, disposing her of the tournament in style.
Lepchenko was phenomenal with her serve game throughout the contest, belting 66 per cent of it on target and securing 45 out of 69 first serve points en route to victory. Yakimova’s 54 per cent precise firs serve earned her 35
out of 57 points and her eight double faults at the crucial moments assisted her opponent to claim victory. She had 10 break points in the match but could convert merely two of them, whilst Lepchenko bettered her with five out of 12 break point conversions
in the contest.
Yakimova was surprised by the immediate onslaught from the American opponent and was stung with two early serve breaks in the first second and fifth games to trail 1-5. She couldn’t recover from the early damage and submitted the
opener at 2-6. However, a stunning comeback was witnessed from the Belarusian in the following set, as she nailed two serve breaks to claim the second set at 7-5, levelling the competition at one-all.
The decisive set was a complete replication of the opener, with Lepchenko breaking in the third and fifth games to lead 5-1. She then held her remaining serves to conclude victory at 6-2 to clear the opening round of the tournament.
Lepchenko will face the 14th seed Slovenian, Polona Hercog, in the second round of the Family Circle Cup later this week.
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