Rodionova sets up clash with McHale
Anastasia Rodionova advances at the San Diego Open.
San Diego, California, 3 August 2011 | AFP
Anastasia Rodionova defeated Olga Govortsova 7-6 2-6 6-3 to become Australia’s only player through to the second round of the WTA San Diego Open.
Australians Jelena Dokic and Jarmila Gajdosova both suffered first round losses in the US Open warm-up event while Rodionova set up a clash with Christina McHale in the next round.
Gajdosova fell to Russia’s Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3 6-2 while Dokic lost 6-1 4-6 7-5 to Japan’s Ayumi Morita.
The loss by Dokic followed a first round exit at the hands of China’s Zhang Shaui in Washington last week.
Dokic is returning from a short injury lay-off following her Wimbledon first round loss, looking to regain the sort of winning streak that saw her claim her sixth career WTA title in Kuala Lumpur in February.
Japan’s 40-year-old wonder woman Kimiko Date-Krumm beat newly-married Argentine Gisela Dulko 7-5 6-0 in a post-honeymoon wake-up call to reach the second round.
Date-Krumm won the event in 1996 back in her first tennis life and just before she retired to eventually spend 11 years out of the game.
Her victory in just under 90 minutes with six breaks of the distracted Dulko got Date-Krumm off to a much more promising start at this edition after losing in qualifying rounds here a year ago.
The 15th-seeded Italian Sara Errani continued the misery for injury victim Sania Mirza 6-2 6-3, with the Indian last winning a match in mid-June.
Date-Krumm, who took five-time champion Venus Williams to three sets in their Wimbledon second-round encounter in June, said that she had some luck in victory over Dulko, who married a Real Madrid footballer a few weeks ago.
“I was confused a bit in the first set,” admitted the Japanese winner, who returned to tennis in 2008 and got back into WTA play by mid-2009 after years of encouragement from her German husband.
“I knew her game and how she wanted to play. When I was down 3-5 I started a small comeback. I had some mistakes but that was the start.”
Date-Krumm said she never reflects upon the fact that she won the trophy a decade and a half ago.
“It was a long time ago. I had a lot of confidence then. Of course I was much young and all of the muscles and the shots – they were better then than now. But I’m enjoying my tennis more now than I did back then,” she confessed.
The event lost sixth seed Dominika Cibulkova, who withdrew with an existing left abdominal muscle strain.
Maria Kirilenko beat Rebecca Marino 6-3 6-2 with the Canadian troubled by back pain and needing a medical timeout.
Italy’s Alberta Brianti defeated 10th-seeded compatriot Flavia Pennetta 1-6 6-2 6-2 while Germany’s Wimbledon semi-finalist Sabine Lisicki, the 12th seed, hammered Greta Arn of Hungary 6-0 6-2.
New Zealand’s Croatian-born Marina Erakovic upset Russian No.14 Elena Vesnina 6-1 6-2.
Austrian Tamira Paszek, a Wimbledon quarter-finalist, rallied to get past Romanian Simona Halep 0-6 6-4 7-5.
Third seed Agnieszka Radwanska became the first into the third round as she beat Brit Elena Baltacha 6-0 7-6 (7-4).