Vesna Dolonc surprises Galina Voskoboeva in opening round – Kremlin Cup 2012
Serbian qualifier, Vesna Dolonc, made an epic comeback to outclass the Kazakhstani challenger, Galina Voskoboeva, in a three-set mouth-watering match at the Kremlin Cup by Bank of Moscow 2012 on Tuesday. She nudged up a 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over the world
number 82 to power into the second round at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International-level tournament held in Moscow.
The underdog displayed superb skills to overpower Voskoboeva in a topsy-turvy battle in almost two hours. After recording the victory in their fourth meeting, Dolonc not only avenged her loss in Tashkent but also extended her lead in the head-to-head series
by 3-1 against the 27-year-old at this indoor hard court event.
The Russian-born Voskoboeva thundered into the Olympic Stadium. After Dolonc held her serve in the second game, Voskoboeva unleashed flurry of groundstrokes and reeled off five games in a row. She dusted away both breakpoints she faced and cashed two out
of five break chances to pull out the opener with a breadstick.
Dolonc made a spectacular reply in the following set. She went on a five-game killing spree before Voskoboeva could come on the score sheet again. The Serb plucked her serve once again and sealed the equaliser with a breadstick. She was never challenged
with any breakpoint and capitalised on two out of three break chances to get back in contention.
Ranked 160th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Dolonc carried her momentum in the final set. She got the coveted break in the third game and jumped to a 3-1 lead. Despite levelling the scores in the sixth game, the Serb got the breakthrough in the
ninth game and clinched the decider with a 6-4 score line.
Overall, the Moscow native spilled more double faults but clobbered a better first serve share of 65 per cent as compared to her rival’s 53 per cent. She also clinched 31 out of 46 points on it and ended the match with 79 points.
Next up for Dolonc is the Romanian number one, Simona Halep, who stunned sixth seeded Nadia Petrova in a three-set thriller to set up this meeting.
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