Martina Hingis Survives Kirilenko Charge in Warsaw
2nd May 2006
Fourteenth-seeded Martina Hingis overcame Maria Kirilenko with a straight set victory, 7-5, 7-6(1) to advance into second round of the J & S Cup where she’ll meet the winner beween Urzula Radwanska and Venus Williams.
In the first set, Martina took the first two games by holding her serve and breaking Maria’s serve. Maria then leveled the score by taking the next two games, in the process breaking Hingis’ serve and holding her own serve. The next games were fought well by both women with Hingis winning the next game to bring the score to 3-2, not to be outdone though, Kirilenko leveled the match by winning the next game at 3-3. Kirilenko then won two of the next three games to lead the first set at 5-4. Raring to finish the match, Hingis then won the last three games of the first set, which lasted one hour and a minute, bringing the score to7-5.
The second set was a tightly fought one. Maria Kirilenko went on to win the first set by breaking Martina Hingis’ serve. Martina then leveled the score by winning the second set, breaking Maria’s serve in the process. Maria responded to Martina’s charge by winning the third game of the second set, to turn the score into her favor at 2-1. Then came the rain delay that lasted more or less thirty minutes. The players split the next eight games with Martina and Maria winning four games each to set the score at 6-5, with Maria leading. At 6-5, Maria Kirilenko had the chance to serve out the match and force a third deciding set, but Martina broke her serve to even the score at 6-6 and force a tiebreaker which Martina Hingis won.
“We were just breaking each other, and most times pretty easily. It was very difficult conditions. I think that today, whoever had the stronger head and stayed in the match won,” a beaming Martina said.
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