Anna cruises into last eight in Paris
February 7, 2008
A fatigued Nathalie Dechy was unable to stop Anna Chakvetadze in the second-round on Thursday. With a 6-1, 6-3 win in just over an hour, the Russian will play for a spot in the semifinals against the winner of the Daniilidou-Mauresmo match
Nathalie Dechy faced a tough task this Thursday as she tried to reach her fourth quarterfinal at the Open Gaz de France. After defeating Shuai Peng yesterday, less than two days after her exhausting trip to China, Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy took on the world number 7 and number 1 seed in second-round action. The two had previously met on the hard courts of Montreal where the Frenchwoman received a 6-1, 6-4 thrashing by the Russian. Currently ranked 64, Dechy had a daunting task in front of her.
The Russian dominated from the start of the match. After winning the first two points, the Frenchwoman progressively succumbed to the Russian's biting shots. Winning 100% of points on her first serve, Chakvetadze didn't give Dechy much room to breath, and her legs seemed to give out on her as the match progressed. With her right-thigh still heavily tapped, Dechy did manage a few brillant points, but it was not enough given the consistency and power coming at her from across the net. Converting three break point chances on the Dechy serve, the Russian closed out the first set 6-1 in just 23 minutes.
The steamrolling Chakvetadze didn't let up a bit as the second set got underway. Racking up the winners, the Russian took the first three games without blinking an eye. But determined to not go down without a fight, Dechy won her next service game. After converting her first break point chance after the Russian hit a forehand long, the Frenchwoman managed to level the match at 3-3. But four unforced errors, including one double-fault, cost her the seventh game. Sensing her opponent was wilting, Chakvetadze moved in for the death blow to close out the match in just over an hour. "In spite of my number 1 seed here, I'll have a tough time with all the French players in my part of the draw. They're going to get lots of support from the fans here," said the Russian just after the match. She will next face either Eleni Daniilidou or Coubertin's very own Amélie Mauresmo, who triumphed here in 2001 and 2006.