Yaroslava Shvedova stuns Lucie Safarova in the opener – Western and Southern Open 2012
World number 45, Yaroslava Shvedova, posted straight sets 6-3, 6-4 victory against the 19th ranked Czech star, Lucie Safarova, to begin her campaign at the hard courts of Cincinnati.
She successfully passed the qualifiers and now looks set to devastate the superior ranked players with her classic run of form.
Shvedova took an hour and 28 minutes to put aside the 16th seed Czech professional that clearly sent a strong message to her potential opponents.
The Kazakh qualifier started off with a sublime ace and continued to bamboozle her opponent with curling drop shots.
She won the breakpoint in just the second game of the match and that clearly set the tone for the 24-year-old Kazakh who looked set to overpower the semi-finalist of the Rogers Cup event held a week before.
Both players were under the cosh in their following serve games but managed to escape the scare and post serve holds that kept the lead of Shvedova intact.
Safarova was again was pressurized and forced to save two breakpoints in the following game but she did well to hang on to avoid any further deficit in the scores.
A conventional start to the second set witnessed three successive serve holds at both ends before a swap of breakpoints kept the scores together at 4-4.
The Czech was serving the ninth game of the set and she faltered for the second straight time; gifting another breakthrough for her opponent.
Shvedova was serving for the set; smashed two aces and won four points in a row to dispatch her rival in the tournament opener.
It was a compact performance from the ‘golden set record holder’ who has been the eye-catching figure in the recent times especially after her monumental achievement against one of the Top-10 ranked player, Sara Errani. She slaughtered
the Italian to win a set without losing a point and registered a unique record to her name.
Next up for the Kazakh starlet is her fellow qualifier from Poland, Urszula Radwanska, who is just one slot below her in the latest world rankings. So, it will be tight contest but Shvedova is expected to win it considering her
great run of form.
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