CLASS SHINES THROUGH

Anna Kournikova’s countrywoman, Maria Sharapova, has defeated Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic in the second round of Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2013. Sharapova won the match in three sets by 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3.

This was a nail biting encounter, but, at the end, Sharapova’s experience and class proved to be too much for the Czech player. With this win, Sharapova made her way into the final 8.

This was Sharapova’s first win over Safarova on clay courts. Before this, these two players had met on clay court three years back and in that match, Sharapova was defeated.

In the post match interview, Sharapova said, “It was never going to be an easy match. I was playing against a player who always plays well on clay courts. So, I knew that I would be tested and the same happened. Thankfully, I managed to get through somehow.”

“I played poorly in some parts of the match; no doubt about that. I should have finished the match in the second set, but, I couldn’t. So, there is surely some work for me to do.”

In the first set, both the players got one breakthrough each in the first 8 games and the scores were equalized at 4-4 at the end of the 8^th game.

Sharapova got another breakthrough in the 9^th game to get ahead by 5-4 and then, with a serve hold in the 10^th game, she finished the set off.

In the second set, both the players broke each other twice in the first 12 games and the set went into the tie breaker. Safarova stunned the Russian player with her improvisation in the tie breaker.

Sharapova lost the tie breaker and the match got extended into the third set.

In the final set, Sharapova was at her peak. Some fantastic forehand shots came off her racket and her opponent had no clue whatsoever about how to tackle that onslaught.

Sharapova got a breakthrough in the 6^th game to take a 4-2 lead. She calmly held her remaining serve after that and walked away with a tight win.

In the quarter final, Sharapova will face Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.

Anna Kournikova

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SHARAPOVA THROUGH

Anna Kournikova’s countrywoman, Maria Sharapova, has defeated Klara Zakopalova of Czech Republic in the fourth round of the Sony Open. Sharapova won the match in the straight sets by 6-2, 6-2.

Sharapova has moved into the final 8 with the help of this win.

After the match, Sharapova said, “I think I played a bit more aggressively than the last match. Also, the conditions were a bit cooler today, so, that also helped. I am glad that I am in the final 8 of this competition again.”

In the quarter final, Sharapova will face Sara Errani of Italy who reached the quarterfinals with a win over Ana Ivanovic.

Sharapova has so far played three matches against Errani and has won all those matches.

Sharapova started with a bang and with a couple of serve breaks, she raced to a lead of 4-0 in the opening set. Zakopalova held her serve for the first time in the 5^th game and then, she got a breakthrough in the next game to bring down the lead to 2-4. But, that’s all for her in the set. Sharapova wrapped up the set with a breakthrough in the 7^th game and a serve hold in the 8^th game.

Both the players started the second set with a serve hold and the scores were levelled at 1-1 at the end of the second game. Thereafter, Sharapova got two consecutive breakthroughs i.e. in the 3^rd and the 5^th game and took a lead of 4-1.

Zakopalova broke back in the 6^th game to make it 4-2. That was the last game won by her in the match.

Sharapova got yet another breakthrough in the 7^th game and then, with a serve hold in the next game, she secured her win.

This was Sharapova’s 5^th win against Zakopalova in 6 matches.

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KIRILENKO THROUGH

Anna Kournikova’s countrywoman, Maria Kirilenko, has defeated Sabine Lisicki of USA in the final of the PTT Pattaya Open which was played at Thailand. Kirilenko won the match by 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(1).

In the last year’s tournament in Thailand, Kirilenko was defeated in the final by Daniela Hantuchova, but, the Russian player didn’t let that happen again. She lost the opening set, but, thereafter, she played excellent tennis.

Kirilenko had a great start in the opening set. She broke Lisicki’s serve in the third game of the first set and then, served out the fourth game to take a lead of 3-1.

Kirilenko failed in continuing her lead till the end of the set. Her serve was broken in the sixth game and the scores got equalized at 3-3. In the next five games, neither of the two players dropped her serve and at the end of the 11^th game, Lisicki was ahead by 6-5.

Kirilenko needed to serve out the 12^th game to extend the set into the tie breaker, but, she couldn’t do that. She dropped her serve for the second time in the set and lost the first set.

In the second set, Sabine Lisicki held her serve in the first game, but, thereafter, she was taken apart by Kirilenko. The Russian player won six games in a row with three consecutive serve breaks and sealed the second set by 6-1.

Kirilenko started the final set in an aggressive mood. She won the first three games consecutively with a breakthrough in the second game. However, Lisicki made up for that blow by breaking Kirilenko’s serve in the ninth game. Both the players held their serve in the remaining three games which took the set into the tie breaker.

In the tie breaker, Kirilenko was at her best. She was so dominating that her opponent managed to win just one point in the tie breaker. With a couple of great backhand shots, she finished off the match and won the title.