Yanina Wickmayer outlasts Heather Watson to claim a quarter-final berth – WTA Sanford 2012
Belgian tennis ace, Yanina Wickmayer had to go through a three-set thriller before putting aside the solid resistance from the Brit youngster, Heather Watson, in the second round of the Bank of the West Classic tournament in Stanford,
USA. The world number 37 settled the clash at 5-7, 6-1, 6-4, to earn a place in the quarter-finals of the US Open Series event on Wednesday.
It was the first encounter between these two competitors and the 20-year-old Briton posed a solid performance before bowing out to Wickmayer in the third set. Watson got hold of the momentum early in the match by claiming the opener
but a sudden slump in her game was seen in the very next set, as she suffered a breadstick to fall back on even terms. Once getting her eye set in the game, fifth seed Wickmayer cruised through the decisive set and registered her 26th victory of
the running season to enter the final-four.
Wickmayer had 60 per cent accuracy in her first serve and fired seven thudding aces to her opponent’s court. However, her over-ambitious strategy resulted in six double faults, frittering away her advantage of aces, but the Belgian
managed to secure 41 out of 61 first serve points to compensate for them. She crafted a total of 12 break opportunities in the contest but only half conversions proved sufficient to drive the Brit out of the competition. Watson, on the other hand, had 14 break
scoring chances but she squandered 10 of those precious chances before converting just four to finish on the losing side in the end.
The fifth seed contender dropped the opener in a dismal manner but she proved to be a real force in the second set. She broke Watson’s serve twice in succession clinched eight out of 10 first serve points to register a breadstick.
She survived the two break threats from Watson in the third set and nailed a crucial one to finish off the proceedings at 6-4.
Wickmayer will face the winner of the second round clash between the number two seed Frenchwoman, Marion Bartoli, and the local wildcard entrant, Mallory Burdette, in the quarter-finals.
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