Vesna Dolonts splits apart Alison Van Uytvanck in the quarter-final – Tessenderlo Challenger 2012
World number 179, Vesna Dolonts of Russia, reached the semi-final of the Tessenderlo Challenger on Thursday at the expense of the 288th ranked Belgian, Alison Van Uytvanck. She clasped the win in straight sets 7-6(6),
6-4 but the score line don’t do justice with the 18-years-old Belgian who deserved to win one set at least.
Both players were in need of a win having lost matches in recent times. Dolonts had failed to win half of its previous ten encounters while her counterpart had lost four of her last ten. It was the second face-off between the two
players and ironically the Belgian had won the initial clash in UNICEF Open last year. However, she should have done better considering that she was playing at her home soil with fan support at her back.
The clay courts of Tessenderlo witnessed a booming start; both players exchanging breakthroughs at the start. However, the local player took hold of the proceedings by winning another breakpoint; consolidated the breakthrough with
a serve hold that pushed the scores to 4-2.
Another breakpoint for the Belgian pushed the lead further to 5-2 and she just need to hold serve in the following game but her competitor broke serve to keep the set alive and decrease the trail to 3-5. Dolonts registered a serve
hold and broke for the second time in a row to level the scores at 5-5.
No one could believe that the Russian had levelled the scores after going down 5-2 in the set. It was a majestic comeback. Both players registered serve holds to enforce the tie-breaker into the play. After a fierce battle, it
was the Russian player who won a mini-break and soon clinched the first set to her name. From the verge of losing the set in the most dismal fashion, the Russian fought back and snatched the opening battle under the nose of her rival.
The second set was one-sided show after an initial breakthrough for the Russian. She didn’t drop any game in the second half of the match and marched into the semi-final stage of the tournament.
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