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Miami Open, second round
Tsvetana Pironkova – Arina Sabalenka 6-0, 3-6, 6-7 (9)
Tsvetana Pironkova lost to World Cup №8 Arina Sabalenka in the second round of the Masters tournament in Miami. Our first racket came very close to victory after leading 5-2 in the third set, then reached two match points in the tiebreaker, but failed to break through the seventh-ranked resistance and had to accept defeat.
Pironkova recorded fewer aces than Sabalenka (2-6), but she also committed far fewer double faults (2-11). The Bulgarian gained the most return points (47-40) and realized six of her ten breakthrough opportunities (60%), while Sabalenka used four of her eight break points (50%).
First set:
The World Cup №8 bet on aggressive attacks from the beginning, but Pironkova was prepared. Sabalenka showed serious doubts on the first serve, and on the last play she made an unprovoked error and the Plovdiv player recorded the first advance of the match.
Pironkova solidified her advance by continuing to play very calmly and confidently and won the second game at 15. Like the previous one, this game also ended after an unprovoked forehand error by her opponent.
The Bulgarian continued to play significantly better and for the second time tried to break Sabalenka, increasing her lead to 3-0. The Belarusian attacks continued without bringing the desired result, as the statistics after the end of the match showed that she had made 7 unprovoked errors since the start of the match.
Sabalenka began to risk even more in her attacks, but this tactic turned out to be completely predictable for Pironkova. Our first racket again showed a very stable game on defense, while his opponent made two consecutive unprovoked errors. Sabalenka began to show signs of irritation more and more and Pironkova took advantage of this, finishing the fourth game with a big winner.
The Bulgarian was 15-30 behind in the fifth game, but managed to reverse the result and twice reached the breaking point. Sabalenka avoided danger, but only temporarily. Pironkova had a third breakthrough opportunity, which she managed to take advantage of after another error not caused by the seventh in the scheme.
The sixth game was the strongest for the Bulgarian in the match. Pironkova prevailed quite easily and thus ended the first set 6-0 in her favor after just 29 minutes of play.
Second game:
At the beginning of the second half Sabalenka showed her familiar level and finally managed to find her trump card in the match, winning the first game to zero after several high-quality attacks.
Pironkova came close to easily winning her first pass in the set leading 40-0, but Sabalenka returned the intrigue, reducing the score to 40-30. In the lengthy play-off that followed, however, the Bulgarian was again the one with the most composure, forcing the eighth in the world to make another unprovoked error, after which the tie was restored in the set.
Our first racket started Game 3 very strongly and managed to hit two break points in a row with relative ease. The first was saved by Sabalenka, but then the Belarusian lost her nerves again and sent the ball away and Pironkova made a turn for 2-1, and after the match Sabalenka was warned by the referee for several loud comments that made the coach. between the playoffs.
In the fourth game, Pironkova made up for a 0-30 deficit, but then Sabalenka hit a breaking point twice. However, the Bulgarian reflected both breakpoints and returned to being more precise in the decisive moments, thus consolidating the advance and leading 3-1.
Pironkova led 30-15 in the fifth game, but Sabalenka significantly increased the quality of her opening shot and managed to reduce her deficit in the set, reducing her gap to 3-2.
In the sixth game, Pironkova led 30-0, but allowed Sabalenka to change the score and reach a breaking point. She was saved by the Bulgarian, but subsequently World Cup №8 realized her second break point and recorded her first breakthrough in the match, which restored the tie in the set.
Sabalenka remained unconvincing in the first serve, but on the other hand the Belarusian’s attacks became more and more precise and this helped her turn around and put the score 4-3 in her favor, leading in the games of the first time since the beginning of the match.
The Belarusian played one of her strongest games since the start of the match and for the second time in a row managed to break Pironkova’s serve, thus taking a big step towards victory in the set.
Sabalenka continued to play very hard and posted a second consecutive scoreless game in her favor, leading to a 6-3 victory in the second set.
Third game:
Pironkova’s right bicep was tied during the break between sets, but our first racket started the final part very strong and won the opening game at 15.
The Bulgarian took a 30-0 lead in the second game, but then Sabalenka came back, recorded two consecutive aces and reestablished the tie in the set.
Pironkova rediscovered the right pace and regained the lead on set, but after the match she needed medical help again.
Our first racket once again showed the level it showed at the beginning of the game and was a very important advance. For her part, Sabalenka again showed a visible lack of concentration, as the match ended with a double error by the Belarusian.
Sabalenka maintained the intrigue in the set scoring a game to zero and reduced the score to 3-2.
With a score of 40-0 in favor of Pironkova in the sixth game, Sabalenka sprained her left thigh and called for a medical break. The Belarusian returned to the court, but immediately after that Pironkova made a very important breakthrough and came in significantly. closer to victory.
Pironkova led 40-0 in the second game in a row, but then allowed herself to relax and Sabalenka dropped to 40-30. Immediately after that, however, another error by the Belarusian followed and Pironkova came close to just one game of victory in the match.
Sabalenka managed to break the series on our first racket and narrowed her gap in the set to 5-3.
The Belarusian kept playing tough and scored two break points in a row. The first was saved by Pironkova, but on her second attempt Sabalenka managed to break the service of our first rocket. However, after the last two games of the game, world №8 was experiencing respiratory problems and this required a new medical break.
Pironkova came close to victory after leading 30-15, but was unable to maintain her lead and Sabalenka tied in the set.
The Bulgarian was 15-30 behind in the eleventh game, but managed to turn the score around and reach one game point. It was saved by Sabalenka, but then Pironkova came to a new opportunity, which she seized and led 6-5. However, Sabalenka won the twelfth game to zero and led the match to a tiebreaker. In it, Pironkova saved two match points, after which she herself lost two chances to win the match, and in the end Sabalenka won 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9) after almost three hours of play.
TennisKafe.com
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