Agnieszka Radwanska earned a spot in the second round that took plenty of effort at the Wuhan Open Monday. Her match against Magdalena Rybarikova proved harder than usual as the Slovakian made a comeback in each set but went down in straight sets 6-4, 7-5 on Court One at the Wuhan Optical Valley Tennis Centre.
The two have played five times with the most recent three going to the Pole. She holds the series lead against Slovakian but hasn’t faced her in four years. Both have first round experience against one another but the weight heavily favors the world number 11 who hoped to get back into a roll during the tail end of the season.
She witnessed an early push from Rybarikova on a break to get her out front on the score. She then took the lead in the third and kept the threat alive in the next game. Radwanska rallied back to force deuce but an unforced error on the AD point made it a two game margin for the Slovakian. A much needed hold from the world number 11 helped her regain a footing in the set but her first serve returns continued to suffer.
The score wasn’t even till the eighth game when Radwanska began to have both sides of her game assist in the quest for a tie. It allowed her to take control on serve which by the ninth, secured the lead change with a hold of serve. It put Rybarikova under pressure in the tenth where prior to serving took a conference with her coach to help calm the nerves. It didn’t help her defend against Radwanska who wanted to bring an end to the set which she accomplished on set point for the break and an end to 52 minutes of play in the set.
Rybarikova wanted a chance to dictate herself going into the second but beating Radwanska on serve proved to be difficult. She gave it her all in the opening game of the set which led her to a draw on deuce with Radwanska. They went three breaks and spanned ten minutes before the 28 year old captured the break. It was the last she would see as the ninth seed went on a four game winning streak earning a double break from the Slovakian. It was nearly a runaway in the sixth until Rybarikova fought back on serve to avoid letting another one of her serves go awry.
She accomplished to hold in the sixth but suddenly found herself on the edge of complete defeat as Radwanska continued to hold and lead 5-2. Rybarikova served to stay alive and despite playing on deuce, she somehow found a way to hold off in the game and then some. The 28 year old pulled off the comeback of the set with a three game streak to force the extension of the set.
Radwanska had troubles building on the returns that caused her to lose control. She reeled herself together in the 11th with a serve to love but winning it on the break proved tough. She reached two match points but had to up her defense to remain victorious in straight sets and move into the second round completing two hours and four minutes.
The Pole’s first serve was very low at the end of it all struggling on the second serve with just 47 percent success. Her return game on the first serve never came around but her ability on the second allowed her some room to hang on. She’ll more than likely brush it off before facing the winner between Daria Gavrilova and Julia Goerges in the next round.
No comments:
Post a Comment