Safarova Crashes Out Of Moscow As Pavlyuchenkova Battles Through
Lucie Safarova crashed out of the first round Kremlin Cup in straight sets at the hands of Daria Gavrilova.
The Czech, fit again after struggling with injuries throughout 2016, also failed to make to the second round in Beijing at the beginning of October and succumbed to a 6-2, 6-2 loss.
The match started evenly, with the first five games going with serve before the 2015 French Open finalist’s effort disintegrated, losing seven games in a row to hand Gavrilova the first set and a 3-0 love lead in the second.
Safarova failed to craft a single break point throughout and dropped serve once more in the final game of the match as the Australian skipped into the second round.
“Lucie had a hard time getting used to [the surface],” Gavrilova said after the match.
“I tried to play more long rallied, but she was making a lot of mistakes in her second or third shots. She didn’t perform her best today.”
She plays Carla Suárez Navarro in the next round.
Meanwhile, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had to fight hard to overcome Katreina Siniakova 7-6 (2), 5-7, 7-5.
The Russian raced into a 5-1 lead in the opening set but was pegged back by the 20-year-old, who twice broke Pavlyuchenkova when she was serving for the set. However, the No.7 seed regained her composure in the tiebreaker to move ahead.
Pavlyuchenkova started the second set brightly but, after taking a 3-0 lead, her serve let her down and Siniakova won four straight games to turn the encounter on its head. Despite Pavlyuchenkova’s best efforts to get back on level terms, her serve let her down and Siniakova levelled the match.
In the final set, Siniakova took a two-break lead but Pavlyuchenkova dug deep to level the match and avoided a tiebreaker by breaking the Czech’s serve at 6-5.
Jelena Jankovic emerged victorious in a topsy-turvy match with Jelena Ostapenko, who failed to hold serve throughout.
After exchanging breaks, Jankovic found some stability on serve, confirming a hold with an ace before a pair of unforced errors gave her an advantage. Though Ostapenko broke back, she was unable to find her serve and a second hold from the Serb gave her the first set 6-3.
Ostapenko’s woes continued in the second set as she once again failed to hold once but was able to make inroads on the Jankovic serve. The Serb held to go 3-1 up and was able to continue breaking Ostapenko until she secured a place in the second round.
Elsewhere, Alizé Cornet eliminated Shelby Rogers in straight sets. The first set was a tight affair, with the pair exchanging breaks in the fifth and sixth games before the 26-year-old saved two set points to take the tiebreak 8-6.
She immediately went a break up in the second set and though the American broke back, Cornet regained her advantage to confirm her place in the next round.
Ekaterina Makarova overcame American qualifier Nicole Gibbs 7-5, 6-1. Both players routinely broke one another in the first set and the 23-year-old lost three straight games, having been serving for the set.
Makarova made no mistake from there, roaring into a 4-0 lead in the second and she sailed into the second round.
Finally, Julia Görges beat Dankta Kovinic 7-6 (3), 6-3, Anna Blinkova came from a set down to overcome Anastasija Sevastova 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10), Ana Konjuh defeated Barbora Strycova 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 and Kristina Mladenovic marched past Anna Kalinskaya 6-4, 6-2. Finally, Lesya Tsurenko was forced to retire after losing the first set 6-3 to Yulia Putintseva.
