Fourth seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia put on a dazzling display of power tennis Tuesday to reach the second round of the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic, while American veteran Jill Craybas scored the tournament's first upset
Fourth seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia put on a dazzling display of power tennis Tuesday to reach the second round of the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic, while American veteran Jill Craybas scored the tournament's first upset.
In the night match at the US$225,000 hard-court event, Italian third seed Flavia Pennetta staved off a spirited fight from Vania King of the United States in the first set to triumph 7-6 (7), 6-1.
Petrova overpowered Japan's Aiko Nakamura 6-3, 6-1 in 65 minutes. The Russian fired down four aces, including one registering 184 kph, and kept Nakamura pinned to the baseline with deep groundstrokes.
Petrova, a former world number 3 whose ranking has fallen in the past year due to injury, broke the Japanese immediately in the first set and continued to spray winners at will.
The 134th-ranked Nakamura, who reached the quarterfinals in Bali in 2005 and 2007, could not withstand the war of attrition.
"I'm quite happy," Petrova, 25, said after the match. "I played well and kept up the pressure throughout the match."
She also credited improved fitness for helping her climb back to her current world ranking of 22, after falling to 28 in May.
"I've focused on my fitness and lost some weight which helps in being able to move faster."
Fitness is a priority for tenacious baseliner Craybas, one of the oldest players on the tour at the age of 34. She used her experience to outwit Canadian eighth seed and world number 42 Aleksandra Wozniak 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in 96 minutes.
Hard-hitting Wozniak seemed to be coasting to a routine win over her 76th-ranked opponent after taking the first set, but she began to lose concentration as Craybas mixed up the pace with occasional moonballs. There were five breaks of service in the second set before the American held for the set and set up a decider.
Wozniak's inconsistent form and inability to change a losing game continued in her first service game. She held game point on her serve but frittered it away with a double fault to allow Craybas to break. In the next game, a sizzling backhand winner was followed by yet another shanked unforced error. She could only shake her head in frustration as the match slipped away from her.
Down three match points at 1-5, the 21-year-old Wozniak finally loosened up and began hitting the baseline winners of the first set. Although she recouped to hold serve, it was too little, too late. Craybas sealed the match on her sixth match point in the next game.
"I got a little tight at the end, but overall I felt I was hitting the ball well," said the winner, who had lost in the first round in five previous outings in Bali.
In other first round matches, seventh seed Italian Sara Errani dismissed South African qualifier Natalie Grandin 6-2, 6-1, Anastasia Rodionova of Russia defeated Ukraine's Julia Vakulenko when her opponent retired with a wrist injury trailing 2-6, 0-3, Italian Tathiana Garbin defeated Hungarian Melinda Czink 6-2, 7-6 (3) and Chinese Taipei's Yung-Jan Chan drubbed Vasilisa Bardina of Russia 6-2, 6-1.
Ukrainian qualifier Olga Savchuk spoiled the much-anticipated Bali debut of Russian Alla Kudryavtseva, who made headlines with her shock upset of Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon. In a battle of 20-year-olds, Savchuk prevailed 7-5, 6-2.
Savchuk will meet top seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova on Wednesday, while Switzerland's second seed Patty Schnyder faces China's Meng Yuan.
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