TENNIS – Vika Azarenka beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 7-6 (7-2) after two hard-fought sets in a match between two former Number 1 players. The match featured 11 breaks. Wozniacki served for the second set at 5-4 but Azarenka fought back winning two consecutive game to take the 6-5 lead but she missed four match points after committing two double faults. Wozniacki forced the set to the tie-break. Azarenka opened up a 5-2 lead without dropping her serve before clinching the win with her down-the-line forehand. Diego Sampaolo
World Number 2 Simona Halep bounced back from her early Madrid defeat against Alizé Cornet with a 6-3 6-0 win over Alison Riske at the Intenazionali BNL d’Italia at the Foro Italico in Rome.
Halep, who reached the semifinals in Rome in her 2013 breakthrough season, failed to convert a break point chance in the second game of the opening set but she broke serve a few minutes later with a forehand return winner. She faced the only trouble when she could not serve out for the first set at 5-1 but she cruised to a bagel wi in the second set.
“I feel good. I feel I have no pain anymore. I have just a little bit of contraction in the muscle but it’s good now. I can do everything. I will have the chance to win a Grand Slam but it’s still very far so I want to try to take match by match and see if that is going to happen”, said Halep.
There will no re-match of last year’s final between Sara Errani and Serena Williams. US Christina McHale upset the Italian player with 6-4 6-4 setting up a third round match against Williams. McHale won her fourth consecutive match in this tournament after starting from the qualifying round.
Errani, who won all her previous four matches against McHale, was broken on her first service game. The 2012 Roland Garros finalist earned a break point chance for 4-2 but she missed this oppprtunity. McHale broke serve at 4-all. Mchale closed out for the set with a smash. Mchale pulled away to 5-1 but Errani recovered a break to claw her way back to 4-5 but it was too late as McHale closed out on the next game with 6-4
“Unfortunately I could not convert on the break point at 4-2. I could have turned around the match. There were so many spectators. Italian players always want to do our best best but we feel a lot of pressure”, said Errani
Daria Gavrilova fought back from a set down to battle past Ana Ivanovic with 5-7 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (9-7). Gavrilova, who upset Maria Sharapova in Miami, got through the qualifying round before beating Belinda Bencic in the first round. The Russian player won a very long match in three hours and 4 minutes in the third-set tie-break after wasting seven match points.
Ivanovic came within two points from winning the match at6-5 30-30 in the second set and in the third set at 5-4 30-30 and at 6-6 in the tie-break after rallying from 3-6 down. Garvrilova sealed the win on the 8th match point after Ivanovic made a forehand error. Gavrilova will face Swiss Timea Bacsinszky for the the first time in her career.
Las week’s Madrid champion Petra Kvitova had to dig deep to battle past Italian Karin Knapp with 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-1). Just four days after her Madrid triumph Kvitova had to rally from 2-5 down in the third set. Knapp came two points from win but Kvitova fought back to force the match to the decisive tie-break which she won with 7-1 after more than two hours.
Irina Camelia Begu upset this year’s Charleston and Stuttgart champion Angelique Kebre 6-3 6-3.
Another Romanian player Alexandra Dulgheru rallied from 1-6 1-3 down to edge past Lucie Safarova 1-6 6-4 7-6 (8-6)
Eugenie Bouchard beat Zarina Diyas 6-3 6-4 putting an end to her losing streak of six consecutive matches
Venus Williams beat Ukrainian rising star Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-3. Bojana Jovanvski edged Madison Keys 6-4 1-6 6-3.
