Svetlana Kuznetsova’s countrywoman, Ekaterina Makarova, has been defeated by Polona Hercog in the second round of the China Open. Hercog won the match by 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(3). It was the third match between these two players and Hercog defeated Makarova for the first time.
The match went on for two hours and 48 minutes and two out of three sets went into the tie breaker.
In the opening set, Hercog got a breakthrough in the second game and she was ahead by 3-0 at the end of the third game. But, Makarova made a comeback and won four out of the next five games to level the scores. The next four games went with the serve and the set went into the tie breaker. In the tie breaker, the Slovenian player played slightly better than Makarova and won the first set.
In the second set, Makarova started brilliantly and broke Hercog’s service in the second game to get ahead by 2-0. She maintained the lead till the end of the set and sealed the second set by 6-3.
In the final set, Makarova was ahead by 5-2 at one point of time. But, all of a sudden, she lost the momentum. Her service was broken twice in the next five games and the scores were tied at 6-6 at the end of the 12th game. The set was extended into the tie breaker again. Makarova didn’t manage to hold her nerves and lost the tie breaker again.
After winning the match, Hercog said, “It was a very close contest and I am delighted that I end up on the winning side. The pressure was huge in the tie breaker of the final set. Fortunately, I made a good start in the tie breaker and pulled off the victory.”
In the third round, Hercog will take on Maria Sharapova. When asked about that match, Hercog said, “Sharapova is in fantastic form at the moment and it will be very tough for me to go past her. I am looking forward to that match. Hopefully, I would put up a special performance on Thursday.”
On the other hand, Makarova was gutted with her performance. The Russian player said, “It certainly hurts if you lose the tie breaker in the final set of the match. I am hugely disappointed at the moment. Hercog soaked up the pressure better than me and that’s why, she won.”