Swiss teen’s run at Tokyo ends as Safarova rallies for a win
Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic returns a shot to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during their second round match of the Japan Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo
Tokyo: Seventh-seeded Lucie Safarova battled back to beat wild card Belinda Bencic 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 Wednesday and reach the Pan Pacific quarterfinals, spoiling the Swiss teenager’s upward momentum this year.The 27-year-old Czech lost three straight games after 3-3 in the first set but in the second she broke Bencic’s serve in the third game and sprinkled five aces.
In the decisive set, the left-hander broke the 17-year-old Swiss in the first and fifth games before conceding no point in the eighth game, finishing her off with two straight aces, her ninth and 10th of the match.“It was a very tough match. I’m really happy I could win,” said Safarova, ranked 15th in the world, after beating Bencic in their first ever encounter in two hours and three minutes.
“It is very nice to face new young players and play very well,” she added.
Ivanovic, 10th in the world, beat former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, the 2012 and 2013 Australian Open champion, 6-3, 6-4. Azarenka is ranked 25th. In another early second-round match, sixth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia outlasted American Coco Vandeweghe 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 in two hours and five minutes. In the quarterfinals, the 25-year-old World No.13 will meet the winner of a match between top-seeded Angelique Kerber of and Elina Svitolina. Safarova faces Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in the round of eight.
( Source : AFP )
Next Story
