Agnieszka Radwanska pulled off the biggest save of the season at the Wimbledon Championships Thursday. Christina McHale nearly had the world number nine figured out with her first set win against her opponent but fell in three sets 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-3 on Court Three at the All England Tennis Club.
Both players had opposite results from the opening round matches Tuesday. The world number ten did work to stun Jelena Jankovic in straight sets with the second taking just 20 minutes. McHale had difficulty right from the start against Kate Boulter who forced the American into submission before playing a drawn out second set. McHale kept herself together, avoiding the upset and another day to play. She has yet to win a match against Radwanska in five decisions that includes a grass court loss two years ago. With the adversity turned up, the 25-year-old had to pull something off to stay alive in the first week of action.
She stayed tight with the ninth seed during the first few games before being challenged in the sixth. Radwanska pushed the American to give up her hold of serve but a save in the late stages of the game allowed her to remain firm. Her service was enough to handle the opposition of the strong Polish star that led her to force the set further until only one could truly lead the match.
The 11th was Mchale’s first chance at breaking the ninth seed came with a 40-0 run to show her keen interest in leading. She challenged a call that saw her return land just on the line but the point had to be replayed. It was there that Radwanska committed a bad double fault that gave the American her first lead in the set and a chance to win one against the Polish star for the first time ever.
It was a very tight race to the 12th with Radwanska defending to level the score. At 40-40, McHale had a chance but double faulted on the advantage. After a second set attempt, the win finally came for McHale on the fifth break ending a 10 set losing streak against the ninth seed completing 50 minutes. The American had the clear edge on offense which resulted in her late show of dominance.
She came into the second with a similar pace but had the fight in her to search for the break that could change it all. It came in the third with her forcing Radwanska into a corner while she went on to take the lead early. The two broke through the next three games to the point that the Polish star didn’t care to be broken any longer. She turned things around in the seventh with an important hold that gave her a chance at holding the set.
Despite not being in control, the American had the will to fight on as she matched Radwanska in the eighth making it a very close run to the set. Radwanska had the 5-4 lead but McHale’s power on serve was enough to get her in position for another set extension. She reached two game points and turned the 11th into a critical breaking point for the Pole. McHale had two break points in the game but it fell apart as the ninth seed made her serve difficult to return on. She escaped her problems and led 6-5 with the importance of breaking the American going forward.
It was the order of the day for the world number ten as she forced an important tiebreaker to stay alive and gain another chance to winning the match. Instead of finding the opportunity to dictate, the first five points were won on serve between the two with McHale leading the way. She landed a key winner opening the gap on Radwanska followed by an ace that gave her a three point run. It came to an abrupt end with the ninth seed getting a couple of points to stay alive.
The gap was fully recovered on a double bounce from McHale’s end that nearly cost her big but a wide return from Radwanska set up match point for the 25 year old. Radwanska fought to make McHale run for the ball and saved the point to even things at six all. Another wide shot gave the American a second match point, but she ended a long rally with a shot into the net saving another for the Polish star.
She reached her first set point on an overturned call from the umpire that was shown to be out on a challenge from Radwanska. She made good on the next point taking it to win 9-7 ending one hour and three minutes in the set and a decider put into play.
McHale was first to act on serve and made good on it with plenty of strength left in the tank after a well-deserved break. Radwanska’s game was also on the positive end showing a stronger output of offense that soon changed the tide of control. The ninth seed reached three break points against McHale and moved ahead in the third to show she was ready to show some serious dictation going on. She opened to a 3-1 lead on McHale that concerned the 25 year old to act quickly before the gap got any bigger. She won on the service hold but wasn’t out of the woods with Radwanska still a dangerous opponent.
The world number ten won the sixth on a service hold with good ground stokes and predictable moves from her opponent that made points easy to attain. McHale got into another gear that allowed her to challenge Radwanska on serve and stay within reach. She found herself fight on deuce saving six break points before the American was able to secure the win on service.
While playing against Radwanska in the eighth, McHale rallied to force deuce but faltered on a wide return handing Radwanska an opportunity to get out of danger in the match. She reached three break points on McHale’s serve to blast away shots before a short rally ended with a drop shot landing just wide of the line ending 2 hours and 42 minutes. Radwanska’s work to improve on serve and defense led her to gain the victory and a place in the third round. She’ll face the winner between Kristina Kucova and Timea Bacsinszky on Saturday.
No comments:
Post a Comment