Varvara Lepchenko outmuscles Tsvetana Pironkova in the opening clash – China Open 2012
World number 20, Varvara Lepchenko, bamboozled the 44th ranked Bulgarian star, Tsvetana Pironkova, in the opening round of the China Open on Saturday. She registered straight sets 7-5, 6-4 triumph in Beijing taking just
an hour and 54 minutes to execute the victory plan.
The 26-year-old American started off with a flyer. She broke serve twice in a row to post a lead of 3-0. However, the 44th ranked Bulgarian fought back into the contest with a double breakthrough and equalized the scores
at 3-3. It was a terrific match-up that witnessed a world class battle between the two talented athletes.
Both players seemed to have settled into the atmosphere of the court and bagged their respective serve games on two following occurrences; pushing the scorecard to 5-5. It looked like the tie-breaker round would be required to
separate the two equally matched contenders but an onslaught from the Americans star earned a critical breakpoint that rounded off the first set proceedings a bit earlier than expected. She lost two points on her final serve game before ending the opening
set in her favour.
Both players needed a good quick start to the second set that would have either increased the chances of the comeback for the 25-year-old Bulgarian or stamped the authority of the American superstar who was already in control of
the proceedings and looking to finish off the clash with a quick fire. The latter scenario proved true as Lepchenko scuttled past her opponent with two back-to-back breakpoints that allotted her a lead of 4-0.
Pironkova looked a bit bobbed down by this early onslaught and couldn’t really recover from the heavy blows she received in the starting phase of the set. She held her serve twice to keep the set alive and broke serve in a ‘do
or die’ situation to make hint a possible comeback in the making. However, the firm American didn’t allow any more breakpoints to her rival and clasped the win with a comfortable serve hold in the 10th game.
Varvara Lepchenko will go head-to-head against the former world number one, Ana Ivanovic, in round two.
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