Yuliya Beyhelzimer stuns Karin Knapp in the first qualifier – Barcelona Ladies Open 2012
Ukrainian professional, Yuliya Beyhelzimer, stunned the 135th ranked Italian, Karin Knapp, in the first qualifier of the Barcelona Ladies Open on Saturday. She clasped the win in straight sets 6-3, 6-0; thumping the
second seed Italian to one of her worst nightmares.
The opening set witnessed a toe-to-toe battle between the two athletes. No breakthroughs were witnessed for the first six games of the set and the scores were pushed to 3-3. It seemed like both players will go on like that forever
but Knapp fell apart in the following game; gifting the first breakthrough to her opponent.
The match was still evenly poised but the tight serve hold from the Ukrainian consolidated the lead to 5-3 in the opening set. Knapp was fighting hard for that crucial breakthrough that would have levelled the scores but unfortunately
forgot to concentrate on her serves.
She smashed a couple of serves wayward and gifted another breakpoint that rounded off the first half proceedings in the favour of the Ukrainian. A major upset was in the making and world number 200 was looking absolutely threatening
especially towards the ending stages of the opening set.
The second set witnessed a series of breakthroughs for the Ukrainian that completely dismantled the second seed Italian. Beyhelzimer broke serve thrice on the trot and didn’t commit a single mistake in the rest of the games to
devastate the Italian and put her out of her misery.
It was the second time in their professional careers that the 28-years-old Ukrainian had registered an upset against the Italian. However, the first meeting between the two tennis professionals was way back in 2006 during the Joue-Les-Tours
qualifiers and Knapp was just 18-years-old at that time.
The overall time taken for this majestic upset was almost an hour and 17 minutes. It was totally out of the blue and no one had imagined that the second seed contestant will fall so easily to a non-seed participant.
Beyhelzimer will take on the winner of the match between Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain and Ani Mijacika of Croatia. The Spaniard entered the tournament with the help of a wildcard.
Tags: