Vera Dushevina ousts Nadia Petrova in 2nd round – Kremlin Cup 2011
Vera Dushevina gave the boot to Nadia Petrova in the second round of the Kremlin Cup 2011. The two battled it out on indoor hard courts of the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia. 25 year-old Dushevina flogged the 29 year-old Petrova
in straights sets of 6-2, 7-6(3) after a lengthy one hour and fifty seven minutes on Wednesday the 19th of October 2011.
Last time the two compatriots met was during the third round of the Eastbourne event held in Britain on grass courts. Dushevina had clogged the round as Petrova had retired due to an injury and she managed to bring the head-to-head
score to 1-1.
The first round of the match was initiated by the younger Russian and she expertly handled her serve to open the scoreboard at 1-0. Dushevina then capitalized on an early break and took a mini lead of 2-0. However, in the third
game Petrova made a comeback by breaking Dushevina and then holding her serve to tie the score at 2-2 by the end of the fourth game.
Dushevina shifted into top gear and utilized the serve-break technique to once again lead the scoreboard with a 4-2 score at the end of the sixth game. She repeated the feat and conquered the opening set with a 6-2 victory and
was now one up in the match.
The second set was also commenced by Dushevina and this time she double faulted on her second serve. Meanwhile, Petrova not only capitalized on an early break but also held her serve to take a mini lead of 2-0 on the scoreboard.
However, Dushevina tactfully brought the score to a balance at 2-2 by the end of the fourth game with a hold of serve and by breaking her adversary.
Petrova broke back immediately in the fifth game and as she held serve in the sixth, she rotated the scoreboard to 4-2. In the following two games the players won on alternate serves and the scoreboard had further advanced to 5-3
with Petrova leading the game.
However, Dushevina was not going to let her competitive edge go in vain and with a hold of serve and break managed to equalize the score at 5-5 by the end of the tenth game. As the players broke each other one after the other,
the set was eventually pushed into a tiebreaker.
The head-to-head steam was lost in the tiebreaker and Dushevina took the lead at 2-0, however, the score tied at three points each. Nevertheless, from there onwards Dushevina cut the goose chase and with a few breaks and holds
clinched the tiebreaker at 7-3.
The younger Russian not only won the tiebreaker but also the match and was able to secure a place in the third round of the event where she will be facing Czech Lucie Safarova.
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