Sabine Lisicki returns to Nina Bratchikova in the first semi-final of the PTT Pattaya Open yesterday.
German closes out Bratchikova in the semi-finals
Fifth-seeded Sabine Lisicki is one victory away from clinching her first title in more than a year after reaching the final of the PTT Pattaya Open with a 7-5 6-3 victory over unheralded Nina Bratchikova of Russia at Dusit Thani Pattaya yesterday.
The first meeting between the pair held extra significance as it was the 23-year-old German's first semi-final appearance since 2011 while her Russian opponent reached the last four for the first time in her career that started in 2000.
After falling at the first hurdle in the Australian Open, Lisicki, who once rose as high as No 12 in the world rankings, put together three wins, all but one relatively comfortable, on her way to the last four since Bali two years ago.
The 27-year-old Bratchikova's own run in the US$235,000 event was nothing short of impressive after she moved past defending champion Daniela Hantuchova, who retired from the second-round match while trailing by a set and 0-3 in the second. She then emerged victorious in a hard-fought three-set win over Ayumi Morita, who accounted for top seed Ana Ivanovic, to book the semi-final spot.
Known for their powerful serves, the two players, however, really struggled to close out their service games, with both managing to hold serve only five times between them. After missing out on her first chance to serve out the set at 5-4, Lisicki, with her mother watching from courtside, regained her composure and relied on a couple of solid returns to earn her fourth break in the next game before eventually taking the set in 53 minutes.
Lisicki's returns came to the fore again in the second set as she got a crucial break early in game three before cruising towards victory.
"A lot of ups and downs at the beginning. I didn't have my rhythm while serving. I tried to find that in the first set. But, I think I managed well in the second set where I found my rhythm back and got my big first serve again," said Lisicki, who will face the winner of the rematch of last year's semi-final between second seed Maria Kirilenko of Russia and Romania's Sorana Cirstea, which was due to take place later yesterday.
Earlier on the show court, Thai pair Varatchaya and Varunya Wongteanchai's run came to a shuddering halt when they lost 6-3 6-2 to unseeded duo Alexandra Panova of Russia and Uzbekistan's Akgul Amanmuradova in the first of the doubles' semi-final fixtures.
The Thai duo got the first break of the match to lead 2-1 but their opponents pegged it back immediately. They looked vulnerable every time Varunya served and it was no coincidence that they were broken twice on the stocky Thai's service games as Panova and Amanmuradova raced through the first set in just 34 minutes.
The Thais threatened a comeback when they got two break points in game four of the second set but let her rivals to level the proceedings at 2-2. They found themselves in reverse situation in the next game but gave up a break to fall 3-2 behind. The Wongteanchai siblings lost game seven before their rivals closed out the match in just a little over an hour. They booked a spot in today's final against the winners of the match between fourth-seeded pair Bethanie Mattek-Sands of United States and Israel's Shahar Peer and Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan and Casey Dellacqua, the Australian who reached the doubles final at Melbourne Park alongside compatriot Ashleigh Barty.
"They made very few mistakes. They also hit it very hard and both served well today. We'll try to get better result next time," said Varatchaya, who hosted a clinic with her younger sister for local kids earlier in the day.
With top seed Ivanovic and two-time champion Hantuchova already gone, second seed and world No 15 Kirilenko, who made her debut in the event as a 15-year-old in 2002, became a strong favourite to claim the title that has eluded her so far.
However, Kirilenko, the finalist last year, looked unconvincing on the way to the last four after she first needed three sets to down Thai wildcard Luksika KumKhum currently lying just outside the top 150 before surviving a tense battle that lasted more than two hours against her compatriot Elena Vesnina.
Latest stories in this category
- Lisicki looks set to end title drought
- German closes out Bratchikova in the semi-finals
- Twitter best way to communicate with Tweeple
- Fifth seed Lisicki rallies to oust New Zealand's..
We Recommend
- Getting off on the right foot
- Take it from a podiatrist - treating the lowest..
- Burglars' union to sue Pancake
- Concern over plan to reduce homework
Comments conditions
Users are solely responsible for their comments.We reserve the right to remove any comment and revoke posting rights for any reason withou prior notice.
Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/02/03/lisicki-looks-set-to-end-title-drought/
0 comments:
Post a Comment