Yanina Wickmayer rallies past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach round two – Open GDF Suez 2013
Belgian star, Yanina Wickmayer, needed three sets to outclass the Russian challenger, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, at the Open GDF Suez 2013 on Wednesday. She nudged up a 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-3 victory against the Russian to secure a place in the round of 16 at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier event taking place in Paris, France.
The former Top 15, Wickmayer showed brilliant tennis to outsmart the Russian in their second encounter. After pocketing the match, Wickmayer not only avenged her loss at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati three years ago but also levelled the head-to-head series against the 21-year-old.
The Belgian was quoted in a courtside interview after bagging the match:
"Anastasia's a very tough opponent and it was a pretty tough draw for the first round. The first set was important. I was down but just tried to stay positive, and tried to make her work for every point. I played some good tennis to win the tie-break and eventually the match."
Wickmayer assertively entered the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. She drew the first blood in the fifth game to take the initial lead. Apart from losing her following two serves, the Belgian remained focused and recovered in the ninth game. The set went to a tie-breaker where Wickmayer prevailed and eventually clicked the opener with a 7-6(7) win.
The world number 28, Pavlyuchenkova rebounded in the proceeding set. She exchanged two serve breaks early in the set and levelled the scores by 2-2. The Russian youngster got the breakthrough in the second last game and eventually pulled out the equaliser with a 6-4 score line.
Ranked 22nd in the WTA Premier Rankings, Wickmayer went berserk in the deciding set. She went on a five-game killing spree before the Russian could hold on. Apart from losing her serve in the seventh game, the Belgian stayed focused and eventually sealed the decider by winning six games to three.
Next in line for the in-form Belgian is the local wild card entrant, Kristina Mladenovic, who stunned seventh seeded Julia Goerges in three sets to set up this epic battle.
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