Anna battles past qualifier at Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships

February 26, 2008

Anna was stretched to three sets by Polish qualifier Agnieszka Radwanska before reaching the second round of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday.

The fact that Radwanska had to play through the qualifying rounds was a reflection of the strength of the tournament, as she recently reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and won a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event in Thailand to reach the top 20.

The number six seed eventually came through 6-2 2-6 6-4 against a steady and talented opponent, with her greater aggression giving her the edge in a closely contested battle.

Chakvetadze broke in the opening game, helped by a cleverly played dropshot, and then broke again to love to lead 5-2. A double-fault gave Radwanska a break point in the next game, but she made a poor return and Chakvetadze went on to serve out the set.

Having played a near perfect first set, the Russian made more errors in the second that allowed her opponent to build a 3-0 lead and move on to level at one set each. Chakvetadze raised her game once more in the deciding set and broke to love to lead 3-2, and then broke again to lead 5-2. Still the match wasn’t over, as Chakvetadze broke her racquet as Radwanska won the next two games, before she finally served out the victory at her second attempt.

“She’s a tough opponent to play,” said Chakvetadze. “The last game was good, I think. I served pretty well and was fighting to the end and that’s why I won.

“In the second set I had so many opportunities. I was 40-0 up, 30-0 up on her serve but I didn’t take my chance. So although the score was 6-2 and sounds easy, it wasn’t. So it was a good match. We both played well, and it was a good game to win because you get more confidence.”