Fifth seed Sorana Cirstea crashed out in the second round of qualifying at the Brisbane International today, falling to Romanian Lucie Hradecka in their first encounter.
Twenty-five-year-old Hradecka dominated throughout the first set, making consistently good returns with not a single game to spare for 20-year-old Cirstea, who lost the first set 6-0.
Cirstea held serve in the opening game of the second set to ring up her first game of the match.
With Hradecka hot on her heels Cirstea pulled out some big shots in the second half to square the match up, winning the second set 6-4.
Still exhibiting strong form, Hradecka continued her attack to lead throughout the third set.
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Cirstea was visibly frustrated, but gained back some confidence after catching her opponent off guard with a drop shot at the net.
But that wasn’t enough to keep Hradecka down.
After handing Cirstea a point on a platter with a double fault in the final game, Hradecka went on to secure the match with a perfect ace, taking victory 6-0 4-6 6-4.
“I’m very happy because I think it was a very tough match,” Hradecka said. “And now I’m a little bit tired, because the sun on the court was a bit hot.
“The first set was easy – but in the first set she played not so good, she did a lot of mistakes.
“In the second set I lost, [it was] very close the game. But after the third set, when I serve I had 5-4 up, I had new balls and to serve so there was little bit pressure.
“Now I go take rest and just prepare for next match.”
Hradecka’s next match will be against American Christina McHale who outpointed Rebecca Marino in their second-round qualifying match this morning.
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In another early match, third seed Vania King defeated Italian Virginie Razzano, 4-6 6-4 6-4.
Battling it out often game for game, the match was tight and lengthy – lasting two-and-a-half hours. King, of the USA, will now play compatriot Alison Riske, who upset eighth seed Andrea Hlavackova, in the final round of qualifying for a spot in the main draw.
King said she felt pressure through the first set and wasn’t hitting the ball like she wanted to, with Razzano dictating play.
“I broke her in the second set when I tried to play a little bit deeper trying to get her off the baseline,” King said.
“In the third set, I had break point chance in the first game when she was serving, and I hit a return that was just out and I think it affected me a little bit because I saw that I had a break early and I lost that chance. And then suddenly, two games went away pretty fast.
“Then i was down 3-0. Then she called a really long trainer break – she had two injuries. I think that helped me refocus and get back into the game so then I came back 5-3 and I just held serve after that.”
King says she’ll now rest up and focus on her third-round qualifying to come later today.
In other completed qualifying matches today, Jurgen Zopp defeated Dieter Kindlmann, Matt Ebden snuck past Victor Crivoi and Ryan Harrison knocked out Mathias Bachinger in straight sets.
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