Agnieszka
Radwanska got into the quarterfinals by the skin of her teeth at the Pan
Pacific Open Wednesday. The number four player in the world kept her lock on Barbora
Strycova to win a three set match 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 on
Centre Court at the Ariake Tennis Forest in Tokyo.
The last five meetings have all been easily taken by the world
number four who while defeating the Czech, has come to be one of the best
players in the WTA. Despite not being able to clinch the US Open bonus, the 27-year-old
wanted to remain in fine form with the WTA finals fast approaching. She earned
a bye going into the second round where it was a hope that she could use her
talents and put Strycova in her place.
The first set was the usual breeze for the Polish tennis
star maintain her strength on the first serve, holding her Czech opponent back.
Though her second serve was in need of improvement, she managed to break away
in the seventh to walk away with a 6-3 victory going a set up.
Strycova knew she had to make a statement in the second set
in order to be competitive. With the memory of her third round match against
Radwanska at Roland Garros, the 30-year-old felt confidence return and a want
for victory. She pushed the Pole to record unforced errors as well as taking it
to her first serve that dwindled in the set. The vulnerability allowed Strycova
to dictate the late stages of the set and walk away with an easy 6-3 win
forcing a third.
It was there that the intensity became real for Strycova who
knew she had more than a shot at pulling off the upset against Radwanska
halting her start of the tournament. The world number four wouldn’t go down
easy and proved that in every game leading to a dead heat towards the finish.
Both players remained deadlocked through ten.
Radwanska knew that getting a break in the last two games
would be critical to her entry to the quarterfinals. The 27-year-old did just
that in the 11th before serving out the match in the 12th
that gave her a sixth consecutive win over the Czech and a place in the
quarterfinals. It took 2 hours and 16 minutes on court with Radwanska having
the slight edge over Strycova that made the difference. The two played evenly
in the match with the first serve being the one characteristic that allowed
Radwanska to remain the dominant one in the series between the two.
While Strycova awaited her next opportunity to play,
Radwanska would get set for an interesting match against Rio Olympics gold
medalist Monica Puig who defeated Petra Kvitova once again to set up the
quarterfinal match on Friday.
Photo by: Toshifumi Kitamura/Getty Images
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